MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A sixth Memphis Police Department officer has been sentenced for his involvement in the brutal beating and arrest of Tire Nichols, a department spokeswoman said Monday.
Officer Preston Hemphill was released shortly after the Jan. 7 arrest of Nichols, who died in a hospital three days later, Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said. She did not disclose Hemphill’s role in the arrest.
Rudolph said information about disciplinary action against Hemphill was not immediately released because Hemphill was not fired and the department typically releases information about officers being relieved of duty after an investigation has ended.
Nichols’ family and others closely watching developments surrounding his brutal arrest and murder in Memphis awaited word of additional disciplinary action against officers who were on the scene but have not been fired or charged. ntts
Highly anticipated video footage released Friday showed five Memphis Police Department officers using a stun gun, bat and their fists as they beat Nichols during a late night arrest on Jan. 7 after he was pulled over on charges of reckless driving. Nichols, a 29-year-old father, was heard calling his mother and struggling with his injuries as he sat helplessly on the sidewalk. He died in hospital three days later.
The five officers have been fired and charged with manslaughter and other alleged offenses stemming from the arrest, which has shocked many for its brutality and has revived calls for police reform across the country.
The Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County District Attorney have said an investigation is underway into the actions of law enforcement officers who turned up at the scene of the arrest. A spokeswoman for the Memphis Police Department said Monday that information will be released as it becomes available.
In addition to the five officers, who chatted and walked around for several minutes as Nichols sat on the floor in obvious pain, two Shelby County sheriff’s deputies have been relieved of their duty while their conduct is under investigation. And two Mermphis Fire Department employees were also released due to Nichols’ arrest.
But the video showed other officers also reacting to the scene. Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis did not say whether an officer involved in the first traffic who could be heard saying “I hope they stomp his ass” as Nichols walked away has been disciplined.
The Nichols family, their lawyers and community activists have been peacefully protesting in Memphis since the video’s release to get more officers fired or charged. The video was reminiscent of George Floyd’s arrest in 2020 and the lack of action by officers.
On Saturday, Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, told The Associated Press that the family would “continue to seek justice and arrest even more officers.”
“Questions were asked before the video was released, I asked those questions,” said Wells. “I just felt there were more than five officers. Well, five were charged with murder because they were the main participants, but there were five or six other officers who did nothing to provide any assistance. So they are just as guilty as the officers who dealt the blows.”
Memphis City Council member Martavius Jones said he watched the video with colleagues on Friday. He acknowledged on Monday that the Memphis Police Department’s no-assistance and de-escalation policy appeared to have been violated.
“When everyone saw the video, we see multiple officers standing there, with Mr. Nichols in distress, that just paints a very different picture,” Jones said.
Jones said he thinks more officers should be punished.
“What will help this community right now is to see how quickly the police chief deals with other officers now that everyone has seen the tape and knows it wasn’t just five officers who were on the scene the whole time. time,” said Jones.
The five dismissed officers were part of the so-called Scorpion unit, which targeted violent criminals in certain areas. Davis, the police chief, said on Saturday that the unit has been disbanded.
Nichols’ funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday at a Memphis church.
