In the wake of the death of Tyre Nichols earlier this month, another pair of police officers from the Memphis Police Department have officially been relieved of duty.
Nicholas died back on the 10th of January, just three days in the wake of Memphis police pulling him over for what should have been a routine traffic stop. Nichols and the five embroiled former police officers charged in his killing are black. Authorities first stopped Nichols back on the 7th of January for “reckless driving” close to Raines Road and Ross Road in Memphis.
Police officials have stated that over the course of the stop, a “confrontation occurred,” at which point Nichols attempted to run away from the police officers on foot as they tried to take the man into custody.
Surveillance videos of the entire event allegedly showed the five police officers aggressively beating Nichols after they had caught up to him and placed him in handcuffs.
With the two most recent Memphis police officers being officially relieved of their duties, the total number of officers that have been disciplined in relation to the event no sits at seven.
Officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmit Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith all stand accused of two counts of official misconduct, read a report from local news outlets, with one count of official oppression, second-degree murder, aggravated assault-act in concert, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping.
This past Monday, a report from the Associated Press stated that the Memphis Fire Department officials announced that they had taken steps to fire three emergency medical technicians that were part of the team that responded to the scene.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office kicked off an investigation which is looking into a pair of its deputies in the wake of the release of body camera footage that happened this past Friday.
“Having watched the videotape for the first time tonight, I have concerns about two deputies who appeared on the scene following the physical confrontation between police and Tyre Nichols,” explained Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, Jr. “I have launched an internal investigation into the conduct of these deputies to determine what occurred and if any policies were violated. Both of these deputies have been relieved of duty pending the outcome of this administrative investigation.”
This past Monday, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy explained that all those involved in the events leading up to, during, and after the assault of Nichols could receive the necessary charges.
“This includes the officer present at the initial encounter who has not — so far — been charged, Memphis Fire Department personnel, and persons who participated in preparing documentation of the incident afterward,” explained the district attorney’s office.
