Memphis Firefighters Involved In Tyre Nichols’ Traffic Stop Removed From Job As Investigation Widens
Activists hold signs on January 23, 2023, showing Tyre Nichols as attorney Ben Crump is seen speaking on a monitor during a press conference at Mt. Olive Cathedral CME Church addressing video footage of the violent police encounter that led to Nichols death in Memphis, Tennessee. | Source: The Washington Post / Getty
The discipline stemming from the death of a Black motorist following a violent traffic stop in Memphis earlier this month involves more than just the five police officers who were fired, according to a new report.
Now, the Memphis Fire Department has been added to the list of city public safety agencies whose employees are under investigation in the aftermath of the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old father who died from injuries sustained when police officers savagely beat him.
According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, two Memphis firefighters have been “relieved of duty” for their roles during Nichols’ traffic stop on Jan. 7. Neither of the firefighters was immediately identified and how they were involved in the traffic stop was not clear.
A spokesperson for the fire department “declined to give more information on the firefighters or whether they have been suspended or dismissed, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation,” the Commercial Appeal reported.
The announcement of the firefighters being removed from their jobs came hours after Nichols’ family and their attorneys viewed the police bodycam footage following the traffic stop for suspicion of reckless driving.
Nichols’ mother said the video is evidence that the Memphis Police Department “murdered” her son.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Tyre Nichols' mother says he was two minutes from home when police officers "murdered him."
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 23, 2023
Attorneys for Nichols’ family, including Ben Crump, said the officers treated Nichols like “a human piñata” and compared the police violence to the infamous Rodney King beating in 1991.
“Regrettably, it reminded us of (the) Rodney King video,” Crump told reporters on Monday. “Regrettably, unlike Rodney King, Tyre didn’t survive.”
Nichols died on Jan. 10, more than two days after the traffic stop.
The Memphis Police Department (MPD) has pledged transparency and swiftly fired the five officers involved. MPD said “a confrontation occurred” during the traffic stop when officers approached Nichols, who “fled on foot.” A second unspecified “confrontation” occurred when MPD tried to take Nichols into custody, police said.
“Afterward, the suspect complained of having a shortness of breath, at which time an ambulance was called to the scene. The suspect was transported to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition,” MPD said in a press release admitting the officers “violated multiple departmental policies, including excessive use of force, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid.”
Please see the attached statement. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/5ParaWvR52
— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) January 21, 2023
Memphis Councilman Frank Colvett, Jr. suggested that the police description of the series of events that led to and included Nichols’ arrest was a serious understatement.
“I have spoken to several people who have actually seen the video. … I have been told it’s disgusting, it’s damaging; it’s not good even slightly,” Colvett, Jr. told FOX13 before continuing later: “It’s bad. That was one, the overarching thing that I heard.”
Colvette Jr. predicted widespread outrage beyond Memphis once the arrest bodycam video footage is made public.
“We’re all going to be very disgusted and want the maximum penalty for these officers,” Colvett Jr. added.
Nichols’ sister previously reacted angrily when she learned the five officers involved — all Black men — had been fired.
“To see their faces makes me angry,” Keyana Dixon, Nichols’ older sister, told the Memphis Commercial Appeal on Friday. “I’m trying to hold it together, but my heart has been ripped open. This is torture.”
Nichols’ older brother likened the death to Emmett Till.
“Knowing the history of police interactions with the Black community throughout time, these men took a position of power and instead of doing something to better the future and honor the past, they became no better than the days of Emmett Till,” Jamal Dupree said in a joint statement with friend Angelina Paxton. “They have let us all down. Justice will be served to them.”
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Tennessee Cops Were Fired Faster For Consensual Sex Than Police Who Shoot Black People
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