Tyre Nichols case: 7th cop fired, 20 more hours of footage to be released
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on March 8, 2023
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — About 20 more hours of police video and audio in the Tyre Nichols case will be released Wednesday afternoon, according to City of Memphis Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Sink.
The release comes after a seventh officer who was involved in the Jan. 7 incident was fired following an internal investigation, according to Sink.
Nichols, 29, died several days after a violent traffic stop captured in body camera footage, which shows officers striking Nichols repeatedly.
His death has prompted protests and unrest across the country.
In a Tuesday city council meeting, Sink announced that the internal investigations resulted in four Memphis Fire Department personnel being charged, and 13 Memphis Police Department personnel being charged. According to Sink, these are not criminal investigations, but rather administrative investigations.
Prior to the meeting the Memphis Police Department announced that six officers involved in the incident were fired. Sink revealed to council members that a seventh unidentified officer who was under investigation was terminated.
Of the remaining officers under investigation, three officers received a suspension, two had their charges dismissed and one individual resigned in lieu of termination, Sink said. The charges and disciplinary decisions will be officially posted on Wednesday alongside the latest round of released footage, she said.
All officers directly involved in Nichols’ beating were part of the first round of terminations and criminal charges, Sink said.
Those five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — have pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in Nichols’ beating and subsequent death.
A sixth officer, Preston Hemphill, was fired in February, days after the body camera footage was released to the public.
Another officer, who was suspended, “did place hands on [Nichols’] legs,” Sink said, but asserted that it was not a strike or assault.
ABC News’ Ivan Pereira and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
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