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One of the five Memphis police officers accused of brutally beating a black man to death took photos of his bloody body and sent them to at least six people.
Newly released documents revealed the length of misconduct by Memphis police officers after they pulled over Tire Nichols for allegedly reckless driving, a claim for which no evidence has been provided, before mercilessly pepper-spraying him, electrocute him and then beat him to death when he tried to escape her attacks.
Files show that officer Demetrius Haley, who first forced Nichols out of his car, shined a flashlight into his victim’s face after he was handcuffed and leaned limply against a police car, then took a photo with his phone. personal cell phone
Haley then sent that image to six people, including a couple of police officers, a department employee, and a civilian acquaintance.
The documents were part of a review of the violent arrest, which found that the officers involved behaved in a “blatantly unprofessional” manner, even “bragging” about the beating after it took place.
Officer Demetrius Haley took photos of Tire Nichols after the beating and sent them to at least six people.
By taking and distributing the photos, Haley blatantly violated police protocol requiring confidentiality in arrests.
He also opposed rules that prohibited officers from using personal cell phones during interactions.
However, those violations were the least of his infractions, which began when Nichols was forced out of his car without telling him why, or later that he was being arrested.
From there, Haley and the other officers on the scene were unable to activate their body cameras during the stop and subsequent arrest, with one, Emmitt Martin III, even removing his camera entirely and throwing it at his patrol car.
Nichols fled from officers after Haley pepper sprayed his face. A group of policemen chased him and beat him before handcuffing him.
Haley caught up with him after the round and, while Nichols was pinned down, kicked him hard in the head.
From there, the officers failed to administer proper first aid to their victim, joking about the beating and taking photos instead, and dropped him while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
The documents then detailed how Haley and the other officers gave conflicting accounts of the arrest and even “refused to provide an accurate account” to Nichols’ mother after the incident.
Tire Nichols was taken from his car and beaten without being told why he had been stopped.
Five Memphis police officers — Desmond Mills, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean — face murder charges for their part in Nichols’ death.
Five officers involved in the arrest, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Emmitt Martin, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean, were charged with second degree murder, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct and one count of of official oppression. .
A sixth officer, Preston Hemphill, was suspended for his part in the beating.
Seven other Memphis police officers are also under investigation, bringing the total number of police officers involved to 13. The names of the additional seven have not been released.
Following the tragedy, two Shelby County sheriff’s deputies were also relieved of their duties pending an ongoing investigation, but have not been charged.
Three other Memphis Fire Department employees were also fired on January 30 for failing to help Nichols as he lay dying during the January 7 beating. They have also not been criminally charged.
The three people released by the fire department included two EMTs, Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge, and Lt. Michelle Whitaker.
The six officers directly involved in the beating. Preston Hemphill (above left) was suspended for his role, while the others were charged with murder.
Tire Nichols screamed for his mother when officers beat him so hard he died days later.
Police body camera footage of Nichols’ arrest caused widespread outrage after its release last month, showing officers brutally kicking and beating the 29-year-old.
The terrifying encounter began with a traffic stop, when several unmarked police cars surrounded Nichols’ vehicle and officers dragged him out of the driver’s seat as one was heard yelling, ‘Get the f**** out! **! car.’
After pulling the 29-year-old man out of his car, several police officers begin relentlessly kicking and punching him as he lies in the street.
He then frantically broke free, scrambling to his feet before running down the road and away from the group of pursuing officers.
An officer then fired a taser at Nichols, but later claims he was only hit by a prong, meaning the circuit was not completed and the electrical shock was not delivered.
The chase continued for approximately half a mile before Nichols was tackled and restrained by two officers, who yelled at him ‘give me your hands!’
More officers then arrived on foot while Nichols is restrained, prompting one to pepper spray him in the face.
Two officers held Nichols to the ground as he tried to free himself, then the third appeared to kick him in the head.
Following this devastating blow, Nichols was seen slumped more fully to the pavement with the three officers surrounding him. The same officer then proceeded to kick him again.
With Nichols already subdued, the officer who used the pepper spray then extended a telescoping metal baton and yelled, “I’m going to beat the crap out of him!” before hitting Nichols three times in the back.
Several officers were later seen propping Nichols to his feet as one punched his face. Nichols stumbles and turns, still held up by two officers.
The officer who hit him then walked to the front of Nichols and hit him three more times, causing the 29-year-old to collapse.
Nichols was heard repeatedly yelling, ‘Mom! Breast!’ during the fight, but he was silent after the blows to the face.
After Nichols was handcuffed, he appeared unresponsive and unable to sit upright.
Immediately after the brutal attack, several officers were heard cursing, joking and ordering him to sit down as he collapsed on the pavement.
Even after paramedics arrived on the scene, they did not appear to provide immediate help.
In total, Nichols lay on the pavement for more than 19 minutes as at least eight police officers milled around the scene, rinsing their eyes with pepper spray.
Then, even after paramedics arrived, Nichols had to wait nearly half an hour slumped on the pavement for any significant medical treatment.
Eventually, he was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries three days later.