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The Memphis Fire Department said it fired three employees following the release of video footage that showed the deadly arrest of Tyre Nichols and the immediate aftermath.
Nichols, 29, died in hospital on Jan. 10, three days after his violent encounter with Memphis police officers when they tried to arrest him in a traffic stop gone wrong. The City of Memphis released video footage of Nichols’ interactions with police officers on Jan. 27.
The fire department statement released on Monday said an internal review found that emergency medical technicians Robert Long and JaMicheal Sandridge “failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment of Mr. Nichols” after they arrived, while fire Lt. Michelle Whitaker remained in her vehicle.
Nichols was handcuffed on the ground, leaning against a police vehicle. He was left there for 14 minutes without medical attention after Long and Sandridge arrived at the scene.
Long and Sandridge called for an ambulance to respond, after which an emergency unit was dispatched at 8:46 p.m. and arrived on the scene at 8:55 p.m., the fire department noted. The emergency unit provided some patient care and transported Nichols to St. Francis Hospital at 9:08 p.m.
Fire Chief Gina Sweat said that Long, Sandridge, and Whitaker “violated numerous [fire department] policies and protocols,” and as a result, the three “have been terminated.”
“Their actions or inactions on the scene that night do not meet the expectations of the Memphis Fire Department and are not reflective of the outstanding service the men and women of the Memphis Fire Department provide daily in our community.”Multiple Firings and Suspensions
The firings come after five of the officers who were involved in Nichols’ arrest were also fired on Jan.
