A seventh Memphis Police Department officer has been disciplined for his role in the beating, arrest, and subsequent death of Tyre Nichols on Jan. 7.
MPD spokeswoman Karen Rudolph revealed that Officer Preston Hemphill was relieved of his duty shortly after the arrest. However, she did not go into detail about the officer's role in the arrest, or what actions he may have committed at the scene to cause him to be suspended from his job:
Agent Hemphill has been relieved of duty. This is an ongoing investigation. Once additional information is available, we will release it on our social platforms.
Rudolph said that information regarding the disciplinary action taken against Hemphill was not immediately released, as the officer was not fired and the department only releases information about officers who are suspended after an investigation is completed.
More agents are under investigation
In addition to the five officers involved in the beating, who were fired and charged with second-degree murder, two more Shelby County sheriff's deputies and two fire department workers were relieved of their duties without pay while their conduct is under investigation. This information will be disclosed and made available to the public as soon as resolutions are reached.
City Councilman Martavius Jones acknowledged that some police policies appeared to have been violated. He also stated that in his opinion, more officers should be disciplined:
When everyone saw the video, we see that there are several officers standing, when Mr. Nichols is distressed, that paints a totally different picture. At this point, what is going to be helpful to this community is to see how quickly the police chief deals with those other officers now that everyone has seen the tape and knows that it wasn't just five officers who were on the scene the whole time.
Nichols' family demands more arrests
The Nichols family, their lawyers, and other activists have been demanding that more agents be fired or charged. Nichols' stepfather, Rodney Wells, told The Associated Press that the family would "continue to seek justice and arrest more officers."
Questions were asked before the video was released, I raised those questions (...) I felt there were more than five officers out there. Now, five were charged with murder because they were the main participants, but there were five or six other officers out there who did nothing to help. Then they are as guilty as the officers who threw the blows.
