Sixth officer relieved of duty in Memphis case
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — 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.
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.
Also Monday, fire officials announced the firing of emergency medical technicians Robert Long and Jamicheal Sandridge and Fire Department Lt. Michelle Whitaker in connection with Nichols’ death.
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, and the workers arrived as Nichols was handcuffed and leaning up against a squad car.
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 said.
Whitaker and the driver remained in the engine.
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.
Memphis police and the Shelby County district attorney have said their probes of other officers are ongoing.