Sixth Officer Involved in Death tire nichols Police said they were dismissed after an elected black influence group called for a meeting with Joe Biden to discuss police reform.
Officer Preston Hemphill, a white man, was relieved of his duties and took so-called administrative leave. memphis Police Chief Karen Rudolph said Monday, according to multiple reports.
Rudolph does not say what role Hemphill played at the scene of Nichols’ fatal beating, or whether he will be charged with crimes related to the killing, as several other officers have done. However, Rudolph said the investigation into Nichols’ death is ongoing and that “more information will be shared as it develops.”
Hemphill’s dismissal comes amid growing calls for changes to America’s police force after Nichols’ fatal beating by a police officer.
Also on Monday, fire department officials announced the dismissal of emergency medical technicians Robert Long, Jameel Sandridge, and Lieutenant Michelle Whittaker in connection with Nichols’ death.
Fire chief Gina Sweat said in a statement that the fire department received a call from police to respond to a report of someone being pepper sprayed when Nichols was handcuffed and leaning against a police car. Long and Sandridge said that based on the nature of the call and the information they were given by police, they were “failed to conduct a proper patient evaluation of Mr. Nichols.” The driver remained in the vehicle.
An investigation determined that all three violated “multiple” policies and protocols, according to the statement.
Hemphill was the third officer of the traffic stop prior to the violent arrest, but was not at the scene where Nichols was beaten, said attorney Lee Gerald.
An attorney for the Nichols family asked Monday why the department hadn’t previously disclosed Hemphill’s discipline and why he hasn’t been fired or charged.
In a statement, Ben Crump and Anthony Romanucci said, “From the beginning, the Memphis Police Department has asked our families and community to be transparent. This news shows they are not responding to this opportunity. It seems that “The question arises as to why the white police officers involved in this brutal attack were shielded from the public eye and, to this day, from adequate discipline and accountability.”
Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Stephen Horsford said: Said A group of 60 members of Congress will meet with the president this week to “promote negotiations on much-needed nationwide reforms to our justice system, especially to the actions and actions of our law enforcement agencies. I was asking you to do it.
Appeal to Biden to have called To pass police reform in parliament, Protests sparked by Nichols’ murder continued in Memphis for the weekend.
Nichols, a black man, died on January 10, three days after Memphis police officers beat him after a traffic stop.Nichols’ Parents was invited To attend Biden’s State of the Union address on Feb. 7, the 29-year-old said he was driving home after taking a picture of the sunset.
Video footage released last week by Memphis officials showed officers kicking, punching and batoning Nichols.
Five Memphis police officers fired after attack Paid Involves second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official coercion.
“No one in our country should be afraid to interact with police officers who serve diverse communities, large and small,” said Horsford, a Democratic congressman from Nevada. “We all want to be safe.
“But it’s no surprise that many blacks and browns, and many young people in general, are terrified of interacting with law enforcement officers.”
Horsford continued:
“Tyre Nichols’ brutal beating is a murder and a reminder that America still has a long way to go to solve systemic police violence.”
Dick Durbin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that Congress will “pass additional police measures, such as screening, training and certification, to ensure that the people who are responsible for keeping us safe are truly stable.” and we are getting closer to this.” How to do it professionally”.
Law enforcement is primarily under state, not federal, jurisdiction. But Mr Durbin said Congress should not be “exempt” from acting.
“What we saw on the streets of Memphis was inhumane and terrifying,” he said. “I don’t know what caused this. The anger of a police officer trying to praise himself for beating someone to death. But it literally happened.”
Also on Sunday, Benjamin Crump, the civil rights attorney representing the Nichols family, called on Congress to pass George Floyd justice in the Police Act.
The bill, which was drafted after a Minneapolis police officer killed Floyd in May 2020, bans strangulation, creates national standards for policing ostensibly to increase accountability, and criminalizes illegal activity. Reform exemptions that protect police officers from civil liability for
The bill passed the then-Democratic House of Representatives in March 2021. stalled in the Senate. With the House now under Republican control, it remains to be seen whether the bill will make progress.
clamp told CNN Further criminal charges may be filed against Memphis police, but Steve Mulroy, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said in an interview with the news channel that he “did nothing last Thursday.” [when the five officers were charged] Regarding the prosecution, no other prosecution can be made later. ”
“We need time to move forward with the investigation and further consider the allegations,” Mulroy said.
memphis police station saturday announced Disband the “Scorpion” unit, which was tasked with actively tackling street crime. All five of his officers charged with Nichols’ death were part of the unit.
Later that night, demonstrators gathered outside Memphis City Hall to celebrate the victory, but said it was only the first step.
Local community organizer LJ Abraham said the organizers are dismantling other task forces run by the Memphis Police Department, including multi-agency gang units, and demanding transparency when releasing body camera footage. said.
In a 2020 Guardian video, she was shown kneeling on her husband’s back as multiple Memphis police officers tried to handcuff him on his property.
“Now when someone is shot by the police, we can’t watch the video,” Abraham said, adding that four people have been killed by police in Memphis since November. The only reason I was able to see the footage was the way he died.”
new york times analysis Police found that during the traffic stop and subsequent beating, Nichols had given dozens of “conflicting and unfulfillable orders.” In the 13 minutes that officers stopped Nichols and took him into custody, police shouted his orders at least 71 times, The Times reported.
“The officers ordered Mr. Nichols to show his hand even though he was holding it,” the Times found. , ordered him to turn, even though he could control his body.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/30/congress-police-reform-biden-black-caucus-tyre-nichols-death Sixth Memphis Police Officer Removed From Duty After Tyre Nichols’ Death | Tyre Nichols