White office fired over Tyre Nichols’s tragic death
3 min read
A white officer who was one of the cops to confront Tyre Nichols has been fired from the police department.
Here is everything you need to know.
Sixth Memphis officer involved in the fatal arrest of Tyre Nichols gets fired
The Memphis Police Department confirmed on Friday that a sixth officer who was involved in the fatal arrest of Tyre Nichols has been fired.
Moreover, the name of the officer is reported to be Preston Hemphill. He seemingly has been working with the southern US city’s police force since 2018.
The department took to its official Twitter account to announce the news and published a statement.
They wrote, ‘After a thorough review of the circumstances surrounding this incident, we determined that Officer Preston violated multiple department policies.’
In addition, they added that Hemphill is charged for breaking multiple violations. These include personal conduct, truthfulness, and a violation for not using the Taser in compliance with regulations.
The police continued with, ‘This is still an ongoing administrative investigation, and multiple MPD officers are under investigation for departmental policy violations.’
Why did it take so long for Memphis officials to reveal Ofc. Preston Hemphill's identity and that he was reportedly relieved of duty weeks ago but not yet terminated or charged?
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) January 30, 2023
Why was the white officer involved in the brutal attack of #TyreNichols shielded and protected?
Meanwhile, Lee Gerald, Hemphill’s attorney, also broke the news of his client’s termination from the force.
He said, ‘Though we find this decision regrettable, Preston Hemphill will continue to cooperate with authorities in the investigation into the death of Tyre Nichols.’
Earlier this week it was reported that two emergency medical technicians and a lieutenant were also fired. They seemingly ‘failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment’ of Nichols.
Besides that, Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing Nichols’s family, alleged that a clip shows Hemphill shocking Nichols with a taser gun.
Crump says that the footage also includes Hemphill forcefully and violently pulling Nichols from his car.
Additionally, Hemphill is twice heard saying, ‘I hope they stomp his a**.’
— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) February 3, 2023Advertisement
More about Tyre Nichols’s tragic death
Tyre Nichols was arrested by members of a special police unit named Scorpion on 7th January for what police claimed to be a traffic violation.
However, five Black cops confronted Nichols by repeatedly using pepper spray and beating him so badly that he ended up passing away three days later.
Nichols was laid to rest on Wednesday where Al Sharpton civil rights leaders led the high-profile service. Vice President Kamala Harris also attended the funeral.
Meanwhile, people across the United States were outraged when the footage of cops thrashing Nichols was made public last week.
Besides that, the five officers, Tadarrius Bean; Demetrius Haley; Emmitt Martin III; Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith, are charged with second-degree murder.
