Millions of people across the country were outraged after witnessing the brutal beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols by Memphis police officers in a video that has since gone viral.
What initially began as a traffic stop for aggressive driving ended in five Memphis police officers being charged with the murder of a young Black man.
The five officers responsible include Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills and Demetrius Haley.
New Details Emerge Of A Sixth Officer Responsible For Tyre Nichols Death
However, according to court documents from a 2015 lawsuit, Haley was previously accused of violence toward an inmate when he worked as a corrections officer. New details have emerged revealing a sixth officer.
The officer who goes by the name Preston Hemphill is now off the force as well after his body camera showed him fire a taser at Nichols.
Should these officers have been vetted more closely before being allowed to protect and serve?
Could there be more to this senseless act of violence? The Shade Room investigates…
Nichols’ death on Jan. 7, 2023 has since prompted the Memphis Police Department to take immediate action against the officers involved.
The five officers have not only been fired from the police force, but are also now facing charges of second degree murder.
Many still want to know how a traffic stop for aggressive driving ended in Nichols’ death.
Officers Involved Charged With Second-Degree Murder, Questions Over Nichols’ Death Remain Unanswered
Bodycam footage shows as one of the officers attempts to tase him, but Nichols breaks free.before being stopped again a few hundred feet away from his parents house.
That is where things escalate, video shows, as the officers kick and hit in the face all while Nichols’ hands were behind his back.
His mother, Rowvaughn Wells, tearfully told the press of the difficulty she’s had in making sense of her son’s tragic death.
“No mother should have to go through what I’m going through right now,” Wells said during a press conference earlier this week. “To lose your child in a violence way…”
One Of The Accused Officers Has A History Of Violent Abuse Of Inmates, Records Show
Each of the five officers responsible for Nichols’ death – all of whom are Black – have all been on the Memphis police force for five years or less.
Meanwhile, the Shade Room has since learned that one of the officers, Demetrius Haley, was at the center of a 2015 lawsuit when he worked as a corrections officer in Shelby County.
An inmate, Cordarius Sledge, accused Haley and another officer hit him in the face during a strip search. The lawsuit claims the two corrections officers noticed the inmate attempting to flush contraband before Haley picked up and slammed the man face-first into the sink and then the floor.
The inmate claims he lost consciousness from the assault, and ended up waking up at the institution’s medical center.
Sledge told the New York Post that Haley was easily the most aggressive corrections officer, and added that he could have died.
However, that lawsuit was eventually dismissed after Sledge failed to provide the court with the necessary information to move forward with the case.
Sledge says he was representing himself, and was left unaware of what was required.
Attorney Of Accused Officer Urges Public To Reserve Judgment Until All Of The Facts Are Presented
Meanwhile, Blake Ballin, the attorney for Desmond Mills Jr., urged the public to reserve judgement until after all of the fact of the case are presented.
Ballin added that his client was not able to see properly that night.
“Some of the questions that remain will require a focus on Desmond Mills’ individual actions, on what he knew and what he was able see upon after arriving to the scene late… And whether or not Desmond’s actions crossed the lines that were crossed by other officers during this incident,” Ballin said.
Renowned trial attorney Ben Crump, speaking on behalf of Nichols’ distraught family, saying they need to “make the case official and document it… put it on the books, that police officers have a duty to intervene when they see a crime being committed.”
Even if that crime is perpetuated by a fellow officer, Crump intimated.
Sixth Officer Fired But Not Charged As Of Yet, Two EMTs & Fire Dept. Lieutenant Fired As well
Meanwhile, a sixth officer – Preston Hemphill – is now off the force as well after his body camera showed him fire a taser at Nichols.
Hemphill was heard on video saying he hopes they “stomp his a**.” He has not been criminally charged as of Wednesday.
Two EMT’s and a fire department lieutenant have also lost their jobs for the lack of an adequate medical response to Nichols’ grievous injuries, The Shade Room reported yesterday.
Those five officers charged with second-degree murder are scheduled for their next court appearance on Feb. 17 for a bond arraignment.
TSR Investigates explores cold cases and special interest news stories underrepresented in mainstream media.
