Documents released Tuesday reveal that one of the former Memphis police officers charged in the death of Tire Nichols had taken and shared photos of the bloodied victim.
Demetrius Haley stood next to Nichols as he leaned against a police car and took pictures, according to documents released by the Tennessee Peace Officer Training and Standards Commission. Haley then sent the photos to other officers and an acquaintance.
“His conduct on duty was unfair, blatantly unprofessional and unbecoming of a sworn public servant,” the Memphis Police Department wrote, requesting that the five officers charged in Nichols’ death be vacated. The newly released documents are part of the request to decertify the officers and bar them from ever working in law enforcement again. Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis signed all five applications to decertify the officers.
Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Tadarrius Bean, Justin Smith and Emmitt Martin III were fired and charged with second-degree murder in Nichols’ death last month.
FORMER MEMPHIS POLICE OFFICER CHARGED IN THE DEATH OF TIRE NICHOLS ALLEGEDLY BEATING AN INMATE IN 2015
Documents released Tuesday reveal that one of the Memphis police officers charged in the death of Tire Nichols had taken and shared photos of the bloodied victim. (City of Memphis via AP, File)
Another officer was also fired and a seventh relieved of duty in connection with the January 7 traffic stop that led to the victim’s death.
Authorities announced Tuesday that up to 13 officers could face disciplinary action.
Haley had forced Nichols out of her car by using loud profanity before spraying the victim in the eyes with an irritating chemical spray, authorities said in a statement.
“He never told the driver the purpose of the vehicle stop or that he was under arrest,” the decertification statement says.
Haley did not have her body camera on when she pulled over Nichols, but was on the phone with a person who overheard her comments.
DOJ TO REVIEW MEMPHIS POLICE DEPARTMENT’S “SPECIAL UNITS AND USE OF FORCE POLICIES” AFTER THE DEATH OF TIRE NICHOLS
Nichols was pulled over by police for alleged “reckless driving.” Officers said a “confrontation occurred” during the traffic stop, and Nichols attempted to flee the scene. The officers caught up with Nichols and began kicking, punching, or hitting him with a baton. During the beating, Nichols complained that he was short of breath. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition and died on January 10.
Camera footage captured on a utility pole appeared to show one of the officers using his phone to take a photo of Nichols as flashlights shone on him.
“You and other officers were captured on body camera making multiple unprofessional comments, laughing, bragging about your involvement,” the decertification charges against Mills state. “You admitted that you did not provide immediate medical help and you walked away and decontaminated yourself with an irritant chemical spray.”
Tire Nichols was just minutes from his home in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 7, 2023, when he was pulled over by police and fatally beaten. (Courtesy of the Nichols family via AP)
Mills was also accused of later giving Nichols’ mother an inaccurate description of the incident.
Martin claimed that Nichols attempted to remove a gun from the officer’s holster after another officer forced him out of the vehicle, and that Martin helped him by grabbing Nichols’ wrist. But the video evidence does not corroborate Martin’s allegation of an attempt to grab a gun, according to the documents.
Audio from a body camera found no evidence that Nichols used profanity or violent threats. Instead, he was calm and courteous in his statements to the officers. Martin, however, used profanity towards Nichols and threatened to knock him out as he demanded that Nichols put his arm behind his back.
Martin also failed to mention in the required manner that he punched Nichols in the face and kicked him multiple times. He said in a later statement to investigators that he delivered “blows to the body,” according to the documents. Video footage showed Martin repeatedly kicking Nichols and hitting him in the face multiple times while two other officers held the victim’s arms.
Police said Martin’s oral and written statements were misleading, according to the charges.
DEATH OF TYRE NICHOLS: MEMPHIS POLICE OFFICER ALLEGEDLY USING FIRED TASER, ‘DEPARTMENTALLY CHARGED’
Memphis Police Department officers Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith were fired Jan. 18 for their roles in the arrest of the late Tire Nichols. (Memphis Police Department)
Writing about Smith, a hearing officer wrote: “You admitted that you struck an unarmed, nonviolent subject with a clenched fist two or three times in the face because you and your partner were unable to handcuff him… You sprayed the subject with your spray chemical irritant and also held the individual’s arm while other officers kicked, punched, and pepper-sprayed him multiple times.”
Smith defended his actions in a letter included in his file, claiming that Nichols was “violent and failed to comply.”
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Bean was accused of holding Nichols by the arm while another officer pepper-sprayed and beat him with a baton. The charges also point to video captured by a civilian showing Bean’s nonchalance at Nichols’ distress after the incident.
Nichols’ family attended the State of the Union address Tuesday as guests of first lady Jill Biden.
Associated Press contributed to this report
