Tyre Nichols: Two more Memphis police officers disciplined and three emergency responders fired
Two more Memphis police officers have been disciplined and three emergency responders have been fired in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols in the US.
Officer Preston Hemphill was relieved of duty shortly after the arrest of Mr Nichols on January 7 and another unnamed officer was also relieved of duty.
On body camera footage from the initial stop, Hemphill is heard saying that he stunned Mr Nichols and declaring, in reference to his fellow officers, “I hope they stomp his ass.”
This has brought the total number of officers who have been disciplined to seven, including the five Black officers who were fired and charged last week with second-degree murder and other offenses in relation to the beating and killing of Mr Nichols.
The 29-year-old father's funeral service was held at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis on Wednesday.
Those in attendance included Vice President Kamala Harris; Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor; and Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.
Last week, the Memphis Fire Department said it had fired two emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and an emergency vehicle driver after an investigation found they failed to provide adequate medical care to Mr Nichols.
Robert Long, JaMichael Sandridge, and Michelle Whitaker had previously been suspended but have now been dismissed.
Fire Chief Gina Sweat said in a statement that the department received a call from police to respond to a report of a person who had been pepper-sprayed.
The workers arrived at 8.41pm as Mr Nichols was handcuffed on the ground and slumped against a squad car, the statement said.
Long and Sandridge, based on the nature of the call and information they were told by police, “failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment of Mr Nichols,” the statement continued.
Whitaker and the driver remained in the engine. An ambulance was then called and it arrived at 8.55 pm.
An emergency unit treated Mr Nichols and left for a nearby hospital with him at 9.08pm - 27 minutes after Long, Sandridge and Whitaker arrived, officials said.
An investigation has now determined that all three EMTs violated “multiple” policies and protocols and that “their actions or inactions on the scene that night do not meet the expectations of the Memphis Fire Department.”
Five black police officers - Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith - were fired on January 20 after an internal investigation into their treatment of Mr Nichols.
The officers have been charged with second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of official oppression and one count of aggravated assault.
In bodycam footage released by Memphis Police, Mr Nichols was heard screaming for his mother as he was beaten by the officers.
Footage showed the men using a stun gun, a baton and their fists as they pummelled Mr Nichols.
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