Ex-US cop accused of fatally shooting black teen pleads guilty

WASHINGTON: A former police officer in the US city of Memphis who was accused of fatally shooting a black teenager earlier this year, has pleaded guilty to two of the four federal charges he was facing.

The 33-year-old Desmond Mills Jr., was one of the five former Memphis police officers accused in the death of Tyre Nichols in January this year, CNN reported.

According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, the former officer on Thursday also agreed to plead guilty in a state court at an upcoming hearing on charges related to Nichols’ death.

Mills pleaded guilty to civil rights and conspiracy charges, which included using excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, the Office added.

Prosecutors have said that as part of the agreement, Mills will be called to testify against the other defendants and has also agreed to fully cooperate in the federal civil rights probe into patterns and practices of the Memphis Police Department.

Meanwhile, the four other accused former officers -- Tadarrius Bean, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III and Demetrius Haley -- have all pleaded not guilty.

The hearing came about 10 months after Nichols, a 29-year-old African-American man, was violently beaten by Memphis police officers and died in the hospital from his injuries.

His death led to protests and vigils in Memphis, as well as other major US cities.