US: The fallout from the deadly Police beating of Black motorist Tyre Nichols now includes the firing of three Memphis Fire Department personnel, and an announcement that a total of seven Police officers were placed on leave, as critics nationwide call for police reform.
Two emergency medical technicians and a Fire Department lieutenant have been terminated over their response to Nichols’ January 7 encounter with members of a now-disbanded unit of the Police Department, Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat said Monday.
Police pulled Nichols over in what they initially said was on suspicion of reckless driving. Officers yanked him out of his car, and he ran away after officers deployed pepper spray and a Taser to try to make him lie prone; minutes later, officers would catch up with him at a second location and hit or kick him numerous times, police body-camera and surveillance video shows.
He died three days later of his injuries, the Tennessee Bureau Investigation has said. The beating has fueled broader public scrutiny of how US police use force, especially against people of color.
An investigation concluded that the two EMTs “failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment of Mr. Nichols” after responding based on both the initial call – in which they heard a person was pepper-sprayed – and information they were told at the scene, Sweat said in a news release. The Fire Department said that the two EMTs had been suspended pending an internal investigation.
- CNN NEWS
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