Tyre Nichols.Photo: facebook
Content warning: This article contains disturbing descriptions of violence.
A former Memphis police officer allegedly sent photos of a bloodied and beatenTyre Nicholsafter he was attacked during a traffic stop in January.
Haley admitted he sent a photo to at least five people, including fellow officers and a female acquaintance, theWashington Postreported. It was later discovered after an administrative investigation that he also sent a photo to a sixth person, according to the outlet.
“On [Haley’s] personal cell phone, [Haley] took two photographs while standing in front of the obviously injured subject after he was handcuffed,” according to the documents, the Commercial Appeal reported. “[Haley] admitted [he] shared the photo in a text message with five people; one civilian employee, two MPD officers, and one female acquaintance.”
Nichols died three days later from the injuries he sustained during the beating. He was 29.
Asixth Memphis Police Department officerinvolved in the arrest, Preston Hemphill, was fired in February after officers discovered more information while investigating Nichols' death, the department announced.
The Memphis Police Department requested last month that the state agency decertify the five officers who were charged in connection with Nichols' death, according toThe New York Times. The decertification would make the officers ineligible to work in law enforcement in Tennessee,The Timesreported.
Tyre Nichols.Jordan James/AP/Shutterstock
Nichols was pulled over for alleged reckless driving on Jan. 7 around 8:30 p.m., and following the traffic stop, Memphis police say Nichols fled on foot and more than one “confrontation” ensued.
According to the documents, Haley, who was wearing a hoodie over his head “forced the driver out of his vehicle while using loud profanity,” theWashington Postreported.
He pepper-sprayed Nichols in his eyes and “never told the driver the purpose of the vehicle stop or that he was under arrest,“The Postreported.
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Haley didn’t have his body camera on at the time of the assault, according toThe Post.
From left, officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith.Memphis Police Department (4)
In highlydisturbing video footagereleased in January, multiple officers are seen beating Nichols for approximately three minutes. When he collapses to the ground, officers continue punching him in the head. Officers also used a taser and pepper spray on Nichols. After the attack, Nichols is slumped against a vehicle. He was transported to the hospital and died on Jan. 10.
Nichols' family attorneys Benjamin Crump and Antonio Romanucci said a preliminary autopsy showed Nichols experienced “extensive bleeding.” Police “brutalized him to the point he was unrecognizable,” they said.
During an earlier press conference, Crump said that during the police encounter, Nicholscried out for his mother.
“He calls out three times for his mother, his last words on this earth are ‘Mom, Mom, Mom,’ he’s screaming for her,” said Crump. “He said, ‘I just wanna go home.’ "
A decertification hearing has not been scheduled at this time, according toThe Times.
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source: people.com
