A sixth Memphis Police Department officer has been disciplined for his involvement in the brutal beating and arrest of Tyre Nichols, a department spokeswoman said Monday.
A sixth Memphis Police Department officer has been disciplined for his involvement in the brutal beating and arrest of Tyre Nichols, a department spokeswoman said Monday.
Officer Preston Hemphill was relieved of duty shortly after the Jan. 7 arrest of Nichols, who died three days later at a hospital, Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said. She did not disclose Hemphill’s role in the arrest.
It was the latest example in a long string of early police accounts regarding use of force that were later shown to have minimized or ignored violent and sometimes deadly encounters. Law enforcement has often been seen as being more heavy-handed and violent in dealings with Black people or in Black neighborhoods.
Hemphill’s lawyer, Lee Gerald, said in a statement that Hemphill was the third officer at a traffic stop that preceded the violent arrest and that he activated his body camera. But Hemphill was not at the scene where Nichols was beaten, Gerald said.
Rudolph said information on disciplinary action taken against Hemphill was not immediately released because Hemphill was not fired and the department typically gives out information about officers who are relieved of duty after an investigation ends.
Highly anticipated video footage released Friday showed Memphis Police Department officers using a stun gun, a baton and their fists as they pummeled Nichols during the nighttime arrest. Footage shows Nichols running away from officers toward his house after he was pulled over on suspicion of reckless driving. Nichols, a 29-year-old father, was heard calling for his mother and seen struggling with his injuries as he sat helpless on the pavement.
Five Black officers have been fired and indicted on charges including second-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of Nichols, who also was Black. Hemphill is white.
Nichols’ family and others closely watching developments surrounding the Nichols case awaited word of additional disciplinary action against officers who were at the scene but have not been fired or charged.
