Two Memphis officers charged with murder in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols have received reprimands in connection with forcible arrests in the past, according to a new report.
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith were all fired and charged with a slew of felonies — including second-degree murder — following the Jan. 7 traffic stop that resulted in Nichols’ death. They’re accused of beating, pepper-spraying and tasing Nichols after they pulled him over on suspicion of reckless driving.
Nichols died at a hospital three days later. He was 29.
According to personnel records obtained by ABC News, it’s not the first time some of the officers have put their hands on a suspect.
Mills had previously received a written reprimand over his failure to fill out a “Response to Resistance” form after he helped another officer forcibly arrest a woman in 2019. According to the case summary, the woman was drunk and resisting arrest, so Mills “grabbed (her) by the arms, taking her down to the ground.” He then “placed her arms behind her back and another officer put handcuffs on her,” the case summary said.
Haley was similarly reprimanded in 2021, according to ABC News.
In that incident, Haley “grabbed” the suspect “by the arm and turned her around to be handcuff (sic) as she resisted arrest,” according to the case summary. He then helped another officer force her into the back seat of the squad car, documents said.
The woman later claimed officers dislocated her shoulder on the scene. Haley also later received a written reprimand for not filling out a “Response to Resistance” form.
Video of Nichols’ violent encounter with police, made up of footage from the city’s surveillance cameras and body-worn cameras, was released Friday. The graphic content sparked protests in Memphis and beyond, with thousands of people taking to the streets nationwide to call for justice on behalf of Nichols.
Local, state and federal authorities continue to investigate the traffic stop and Nichols’ subsequent death.
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