What we know as five fired police officers

Five officers from the Memphis Police Department in Tennessee have been fired after Tire Nichols, a 29-year-old father, died in hospital during a traffic stop days after his arrest.

In a statement released on Friday, the department said an investigation had concluded officers engaged in “excessive use of force.”

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith were said to have resigned from their jobs after violating “multiple department policies” during their interaction with Nichols.

An earlier police statement released Jan. 8 said officers attempted to arrest Nichols around 8:30 p.m. CST on Jan. 7 for “reckless driving.”

“When officers approached the driver of the vehicle, a confrontation ensued and the suspect fled the scene on foot. Officers pursued the suspect and again attempted to take the suspect into custody. Another confrontation ensued while attempting to take the suspect into custody; However, the suspect was ultimately arrested,” the statement said.

It continued: “Afterwards, the suspect complained of shortness of breath, after which an ambulance was called to the scene. The suspect was transported to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition.”

Nichols “succumbed to his injuries” on Jan. 10, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Details on the exact cause of Nichols’ death have not yet been released.

The bureau is investigating whether any of the officers committed felonies, while the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI have launched a separate civil rights investigation.

On Friday, following an internal investigation, the police department released a statement announcing that the five officers had been fired.

“Following a thorough review of the circumstances of this incident, we have determined that five MPD officers have violated multiple department policies, including excessive use of force, duty to intervene and duty to assist the Memphis Police Department,” the statement said.

On Tuesday, police said footage from the officers’ body cameras would be released following their internal investigation, but gave no further details as to when.

news week contacted the Memphis Police Department for comment.

The footage will first be shown to the Nichols family and their attorney, Ben Crump, who are scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday.

Speaking to local network Action News 5, Crump said: “When the police unfairly kill a person, especially a black person… they usually delay, delay, delay. But I’m encouraged because Chief Davis and city officials communicated with me yesterday.”

In separate incidents, three men died during or immediately following interactions with Los Angeles police on January 2 and 3.

Two of the men were shot dead, one reportedly armed with a “large knife” while the other carried a metal pole. The third man, 31-year-old Keenan Anderson, died of cardiac arrest after being repeatedly tasered.

Since May 2020, when 46-year-old George Floyd was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin, police brutality has come under increasing focus across the United States, sparking mass protests nationwide.