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Sixth policeman terminated following fatality of Tyre Nichols resulting from physical assault
A Sixth Memphis police officer was discharged on Friday after an internal police investigation confirmed that he had broken various department regulations in his management of the apprehension of Tyre Nichols, especially in regard to the standards of deploying a taser.
Preston Hemphill was already put on suspension for investigation concerning his involvement in the detention of Nichols on January 7th leading to the man's death three days after that. Five officers from Memphis have been dismissed and charged with second-degree homicide in Nichols' passing.
Hemphill was the third officer present at the traffic stop which proceeded to the alarming arrest, but he was not present when Nichols was physically assaulted.
On the video from the initial stop recorded with a body cam, Hemphill is heard remarking that he used a taser on Nichols and then saying, "I wish somebody would give him a beating."
On Friday, a board in Tennessee decided to withdraw the emergency medical technician certifications of two ex-employees of the Memphis Fire Department due to neglect in providing essential medical assistance.
The suspension of EMT Robert Long and advanced EMT JaMichael Sandridge is part of the ongoing effort to punish those in law enforcement and other emergency personnel involved in the violence against Nichols, who was Black. Six Black officers have been discharged and charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. Another officer has been temporarily removed from duty. The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the incident, which was recorded on video.
Nichols' death caused the termination of three employees of the fire department. Ex-fire Lt. Michelle Whitaker was the third of them to be dismissed, though her permit was not considered for suspension on Friday. There has been an assertion from the department that Whitaker had been in the engine with the driver when he was attacked on Jan. 7th, which was prior to Nichols' death on the 10th.
At Friday's emergency meeting, Jeff Beaman, a member of the Emergency Medical Services Board, suggested that if other certified personnel such as a supervisor had been present, they might have been able to avoid the fatal incident involving Nichols. Beaman expressed his desire that the board looks into this further. In addition, Matt Gibbs, a lawyer for the State Department of Health, made it clear that the two suspensions were only a preliminary step in the entire process.
The board members viewed 19 minutes of surveillance film which featured Long and Sandridge neglecting to look after Nichols, who could not keep himself upright against the side of the car and ended up on the floor many times. They further took into account an affidavit by the Deputy Chief of the Memphis Fire Department.
Gibbs asserted that Mr. Sandridge and Mr. Long did not give emergency care or treatment to the patient T.N., who was in obvious discomfort during their 19 minutes in the room. Sullivan Smith suggested it would have been apparent even to a person without medical training that the patient required help.
Smith stated that despite being his best chance for assistance, Long and Sandridge did not succeed in providing assistance. Chief Sweat declared that the department had obtained a call from the police when an individual was pepper sprayed. Upon arriving at 8:41 pm, Nichols was found handcuffed to the ground, inactive, and slumped against a police vehicle. In accordance with the call's nature and the data given by the police, it was mentioned that Long and Sandridge were unable to successfully evaluate Nichols' situation.
No one responded immediately to the voicemail requesting a response that was left at the provided contact number for Long. Additionally, a person who received a call to the number listed for Sandridge declined to comment about the board's ruling. Reports indicate that an ambulance was dispatched at 8:55 p.m. and the medical unit cared for Nichols before transferring him to a hospital at 9:08 p.m., 27 minutes after the arrival of Long, Sandridge, and Whitaker.
An investigation determined that all three officers were in breach of multiple policies and protocols, which the Memphis Fire Department stated did not meet its expectations. Notably, Nichols was subject to a heinous assault after being pulled over for a quintessential traffic violation, as footage of the event shows the officers pinning him down while they punched, kicked, and battered him with a baton as he frantically called for his mother.
Six officers from the Scorpion unit, a division tasked with combating violent offenders in high-risk areas, have made headlines for the video depicting the fatal incident. Upon its unveiling, Police Chief Cerelyn Davis announced the dissolution of the division. The unfortunate occurrence reignited the dialogue concerning the unfair treatment of Black individuals regardless of the ethnicity of both the officers and victims.
At the funeral of Mr. Nichols on Wednesday, expressions of grief for the loss of a dear son, brother, father, and passionate photographer and skateboarder were intertwined with calls for reform and justice.
