Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old man who died after being beaten by police last month, was the second Memphis police officer to be dismissed as a result, according to authorities.
Police said in a statement that Officer Preston Hemphill, who had been relieved of duty, had been “departmentally charged and terminated” for infractions involving his personal conduct, his honesty, and his use of a Taser shock gun.
He has not been charged with a crime, according to the police, and departmental charges are not the same as criminal charges.
Following the violent traffic stop and subsequent beating of Nichols on January 7, five additional Memphis police officers were dismissed and legally charged with second-degree murder and other offenses.
In a statement released on Friday, police stated that “several MPD officers are under investigation for departmental policy infractions” and that an administrative inquiry was in progress.
The traffic stop scene was where Hemphill was, according to his lawyer, but he was never there when Nichols was later punched, beaten with a baton, and subjected to other violence that was captured on camera.
According to the police department, Hemphill was employed by the Memphis police in March 2018.
Hospitalized Nichols passed away three days later.
Following the fatal confrontation, seven Memphis police officers—including the five officers who are facing criminal charges and Hemphill—have been dismissed from their duties. Six of them were let go.
The Memphis Fire Department reported last week that three Memphis EMTs who had attended the incident had been fired as a result of an internal inquiry.
According to the order documents, a Tennessee Department of Health board on Friday suspended the licenses of two of the fired employees — Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge — for failing to provide Nichols with emergency care and treatment for almost 19 minutes after arriving at the site. According to a health department representative, the inquiry is still ongoing.
People all throughout the country were surprised and horrified by videos showing the police stopping Nichols and assaulting him. Joe Biden, the president, expressed shock and described the video as horrible, while FBI Director Christopher Wray described himself as “appalled.”
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