Police announced Friday, February 3rd that an additional Memphis police officer has been fired following the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old man who died after he was beaten by police officers in January. Nichols had been stopped on ‘suspicion of reckless driving’ after photographing the sunset earlier that evening.
According to his attorney, Officer Preston Hemphill was at the scene of the initial traffic stop, but he was not at the second site where the violent beating occurred that resulted in the loss of Tyre’s life.
Officer Hemphill was terminated for infractions that include violating rules regarding a stun device, personal conduct, and truthfulness, police said in their statement. He has also been charged interdepartmentally.
Out of the seven Memphis police officers, including the five officers criminally charged and Hemphill, six have been fired. All seven have been removed from duty following the violent encounter that resulted in Tyre Nichols death.
Videos of the traffic stop and the subsequent beating of Nichols horrified people across the nation. President Joe Biden referred to the video as horrific, while FBI Director Christoper Wray said he was “appalled,” by the footage.
Hemphill had been an officer with the Memphis police department since March 2018.