Two Memphis Fire Department employees have been removed from duty while the agency conducts an investigation into the death of a Black man after a violent arrest that led to the firing of five police officers.
The employees were involved in the initial patient care of Tyre Nichols, the Memphis Fire Department said in a statement.
Memphis police officers beat Nichols on Jan. 7 for three minutes, treating him like “a human piñata” in a “savage” encounter reminiscent of the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King, attorneys for his family said Monday after the family saw police video.
Attorney Ben Crump said the video that the family viewed showed that Nichols — a 29-year-old FedEx worker and father — was shocked, pepper sprayed and restrained after he was pulled over for a traffic stop near his home. He was returning home from a suburban park, where he had taken photos of the sunset.
The fire department employees were “relieved of duty” last week while an internal investigation is conducted, the agency said. No further information was released.
Nichols' death has led to three separate law enforcement investigations — and five Black officers were fired last week after a police probe determined that they used excessive force, and failed their duties to intervene and render aid.
Nichols’ family has agreed to investigators’ request to wait a week or two before making the video public to “make sure to give this family what they want most, and that is justice,” Crump said.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said in a statement Monday that investigators don’t want to risk compromising the investigation.
