Emmitt Martin III: Memphis cop accused of killing Tyre Nichols reportedly threatened two men in 2020
MEMPHIS, ILLINOIS: Glenn Harris and Demarius Hervey, the two residents of Memphis have claimed that one of the officers, Emmitt Martin III, involved in the brutal killing of Tyre Nichols, has pulled a gun at them. According to the two brothers, the incident took place back in August 2020, when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by police cars. Both feared being arrested and decided to flee before smashing their car after a couple of miles.
"I got scared,” Harris said. The 24-year-old further explained that he had been smoking marijuana, possessed a small amount of pot with them, and had a registered handgun. “When I got out of the car and tried to run, that’s when Officer Emmitt grabbed me. He slammed me on the ground and pulled his gun out", said Harris. The young man also alleges that Martin pinned him to the pavement with a knee on his neck and pointed a service weapon straight at his head. “I’ll blow your face off,” Martin said, as per Harris. Hervey claims that the officer also threatened him with his gun.
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They saw officer Emmitt Martin III on television
Their mother, Stacy Harris told on Monday, January 31, that she received a call from Glenn Harris a few hours after their arrest and shared with her what happened during the encounter. “He told me (Officer Martin) threw him to the ground and put the gun to him and told him he would ‘blow his f—--- head off,’” said Stacy. Harris recognized officer Martin when he saw him on the television covering the death of Tyre Nichols.
Why didn't they file a police complaint?
Attorney Arthur Horne, who represented Glenn Harris in the case told that Harris visited him in his office a couple of days later after the alleged encounter took place and shared that an aggressive officer arrested him. “He said an officer pulled a gun out and held it to his head and called him the N-word. I told him he could go to internal affairs, but they probably wouldn’t do anything,” recalled Horne. Harris told NBC News that he did not go ahead with the complaint as his only priority was to be out of jail. However, the attorney on Monday said that they are weighing on filing a complaint now.
As per the official affidavit obtained by NBC, the complaint dated August 2, 2020, and was signed by officer E Martin, confirming the arrest of Harris and Hervey. According to the record, no charges were filed against Hervey, but police did recover a baggie with what appeared to be marijuana in his right pocket and “over $194 in different denominations.” “Harris had over $2960 dollars on his person,” as per the affidavit, which also mentions that police found a scale and a gun with 15 rounds “in the magazine.”