Records show former inmates warned the former county mayor and other officials of dangerous behavior by Demetrius Haley, the now-indicted, ex-Memphis Police Department officer, during his time as a corrections officer.

Personnel records for Haley, 30, reveal that he had multiple allegations of violating departmental policy at Shelby County Division of Corrections.

Most of the claims against Haley were found to be unsubstantiated.

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The allegations included excessive uses of force and failing to report knowledge of an inmate bringing in contraband. 

The claim that led to the warning was the alleged excessive use of force against an inmate, Cordarlrius Sledge, which was previously reported by The Daily Memphian.

Revealed in the records was a letter written by witnesses of the May 2015 event, urging leaders to look into the behavior of the corrections officers, including Haley.

“How are (we) the inmates at the Shelby County Correctional Center suppose(d) to feel safe and secure when the staff members at the Shelby County Correctional Center are assaulting and threatening us?” the letter reads. 

“We are truly asking that this matter be looked into before someone gets hurt really bad or lose(s) their life because of some unprofessional officers.”

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That letter was addressed to Mark Luttrell, then-Shelby County mayor; William Gupton, director of SCDC; Arthur Horne, attorney; and SCDC’s Office of Professional Standards (OPS).

A total of 34 inmates signed the letter.

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Shelby County Criminal Court Division 3 Judge James Jones Jr. signed a Nov. 2 order granting the dissemination of previously unreleased materials related to the Nichols case.

Haley’s SCDC personnel file was part of that material. 

The personnel file, which contains nearly 800 pages of documents, was obtained by The Daily Memphian through an open records request to the Shelby County government.

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Haley served as a corrections officer for the Shelby County Division of Corrections for five years, from Jan. 16, 2015, to July 5, 2020. Haley started working for MPD in August 2020.

Haley, 30, a former officer in MPD’s SCORPION Unit, has been indicted in both state and federal courts for his role in Tyre Nichols’ death.

Sledge alleges excessive use of force

Investigators found Haley acted within policy after determining that Sledge’s injuries may not have come from the beating.

Sledge filed a federal lawsuit against Haley regarding the alleged use-of-force incident.

The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed, after Sledge failed to answer communications from the court. 

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Sledge told The Daily Memphian in January that he was unable to answer the communications because he was imprisoned in another state. The Daily Memphian was unable to verify that claim at the time.

Sledge claimed in the handwritten lawsuit against Haley and two other correctional officers that guards conducted a random strip search in May 2015 after smelling smoke.

The officers claimed Sledge flushed contraband.

Sledge told investigators the contraband was a piece of paper containing gang information, according to a summary and conclusion report.

Officers were unable to ascertain what the contraband was.

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A supervisor ordered officers to beat Sledge and spray him, according to the letter.

Haley told investigators he ordered Sledge multiple times to take his underwear off during the search and then sprayed him with a chemical agent. 

According to the letter written by inmates, the two officers, including Haley, laughed as they searched Sledge. 

Sledge claimed Haley and another guard punched him in the face, and that the supervisor picked him up and slammed his face into the sink before throwing him to the floor. Sledge said he blacked out and woke up in a medical unit. 

The findings state Sledge had a fractured temporal bone and perforated eardrum. 

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But the investigator could not confirm how he got those injuries, and they could not determine he was knocked unconscious, according to the findings.

According to the letter, the sergeant and officers involved in the case were banned from the J. Building (a portion of the prison) for assaulting inmates.

Unsubstantiated claims

Although the use-of-force allegations involving Sledge were ruled to be unsubstantiated by the SCDC, Haley was found to be in violation of policy for an October 2015 incident, just nine months after he started the job.

Records state that Haley reportedly was told by an inmate, Ingram Cole, of an attempt to bring in contraband while Cole was at Regional One Health. 

The plan was interrupted by another inmate, who may have informed OPS after overhearing the plan. Records show that Haley told Cole that OPS called to speak with the other inmate. 

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Cole was then heard on a call voicing his intent to cause bodily harm to the other inmate by SCDC officers, according to records.

“You claim you did not know you were supposed to prepare an informational incident to report ... Cole’s plan,” a disciplinary action form reads. “You never notified any supervisor. These actions were major infractions and violated Policy #125 in the sections cited above. Your unprofessional actions potentially jeopardized the security of the facility, health, safety or welfare of (inmate), other inmates or employees.”

Haley’s records show supervisors also recommended he receive refresher training with SCDC’s Training Academy.

More than a year after the incident with Sledge, Haley took an inmate to the ground, resulting in a cut on their forehead on Aug. 20, 2016.

Records state the inmate, Norman Branch, placed a slip of paper containing “GreenDot” numbers in his shoe after returning from working in the kitchen.

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GreenDot MoneyPaks can be purchased at convenience stores and are used to load cash onto regular debit cards or prepaid ones. 

Users create a MoneyPak account and then receive a code that allows them to transfer money onto the card of their choice, according to GreenDot’s website. 

Branch admitted that he was going to use the numbers to buy cigarettes, according to the records.

Haley was asked to pat down inmates returning from the kitchen after Branch was spotted placing the numbers in his shoe.

Haley wrote in an incident report he asked Branch to take off his shoes and place his hands on the wall. 

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Branch complied at first but allegedly swung back at Haley and placed the slip of paper in his mouth, according to the report.

Haley then took him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs. 

Investigators found Haley’s use of force to be justified. 

Branch was charged with violating inmate rules, including possessing contraband and disobeying orders from corrections officers.

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Investigators found a sexual harassment allegation against Haley to be unsubstantiated. 

The allegation was levied by an inmate claiming an improper strip search was conducted against him by Haley in March 2018.

Haley was again accused of improper use of force in 2018, but that force was found to have been justified by investigators.

Haley was exonerated from another 2018 claim stating he had violated the policy on harassment and misuse of phone/mail privileges. Another claim of unprofessional conduct in that same incident was found to be unsubstantiated.

Court cases

Tyre Nichols died Jan. 10, three days after an altercation during a traffic stop conducted by SCORPION Unit officers, including Haley.

Haley is set to go to trial Aug. 12, 2024, in state court and May 6, 2024, in federal court. 

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Haley is scheduled to go to trial with three other officers indicted in the case: Tadarrius Bean, Justin Smith and Emmitt Martin III.

The fifth officer, Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty in federal court Nov. 2. He is slated to plead guilty in state court following sentencing at the federal level.

The five officers, along with a host of other defendants, are being sued for $550 million in damages by Nichols’ family. A judge ruled in September that the case against them will be stayed – although it will continue against the others – until their criminal cases conclude. 

Part of Jones’ order granting release of material includes roughly 24 hours of video, audio, reports and documents in the Nichols case.

Personnel records for the 17 city employees who were on the scene of the beating will also be released. 

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Those records will be released by the City of Memphis.

Not included in the release will be Garrity material. Garrity statements are statements given in internal government investigations that can’t be used in criminal cases.