Sixth lawman fired in Memphis arrest

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A sixth Memphis officer was fired Friday after an internal police investigation showed he violated multiple department policies in the violent arrest of Tyre Nichols, including rules surrounding the deployment of a stun gun, officials said.

Preston Hemphill had been suspended as he was investigated for his role in the Jan. 7 arrest of Nichols, who died in a hospital three days later. Five Memphis officers have already been fired and charged with second-degree murder in Nichols’ death.

Nichols was beaten after police stopped him for what they said was a traffic violation.

The officers who have been fired and charged are Black, as was Nichols. Hemphill, who is white, was the third officer at the traffic stop that preceded the arrest but was not at the location where Nichols was beaten after he ran away.

One other officer has been suspended, but has not been identified. The department generally gives out information about an officer’s punishment only after a department investigation into misconduct ends, said Karen Rudolph, Memphis police spokeswoman.

On body camera footage from the initial stop, Hemphill is heard saying that he used a stun gun against Nichols and declaring, “I hope they stomp his a**.”

Along with breaking rules regarding the use of a stun gun, Hemphill was also fired for violations of personal conduct and truthfulness, police said in a statement.

Also Friday, a Tennessee board suspended the emergency medical technician licenses of two former Memphis Fire Department employees, EMT Robert Long and advanced EMT JaMichael Sandridge, for failing to render critical care to Nichols after he took a beating from police that ultimately killed him.

Three Fire Department employees were fired after Nichols died. Former Fire Department Lt. Michelle Whitaker was the third employee let go, but her license was not considered for suspension Friday.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said Friday the city has ordered up a review of its Police Department — including special units and use-of-force policies — through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, through the Collaborative Reform Initial Technical Assistant Center program, and the International Association of Police Chiefs.