“No pursuit is worth the loss of innocent life,” Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said.
Restrictive police pursuit policies are becoming the norm nationally and in the Memphis area. This means fewer crashes, fewer injuries and deaths. But some criminals know police probably won’t chase, so they get away.
Bishop Brandon Porter said the officer injured in Thursday’s shooting was also the director of security at his church. TBI confirms officer in critical condition after East Memphis shootingRelated story:
Cleotha Henderson, aka Abston, was arraigned on multiple counts Friday, including a charge of first-degree murder in the killing of Eliza Fletcher.
The quick release of footage of the Tyre Nichols’ beating is an anomaly for MPD, which has not released video or other details in a series of officer-involved shootings since November.
Memphis Police Department footage shows more than 20 participants bursting into businesses in some recent burglaries.
Hemphill is the sixth MPD officer to be fired for violating police policies in the Jan. 7 death of Tyre Nichols. State board suspends 2 of 3 fired EMTs over failure to help Tyre NicholsRelated story:
Major violent crime was down 5.1% in Memphis and 5% in Shelby County for 2022 compared to the year prior. But major property crime — mainly driven by more than a 100% increase in vehicle thefts — is up. Related story:
It took five years — five years — for New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo to be fired after Eric Garner’s death in 2014. In Memphis, in 2023, it took 13 days for five officers to be fired for their roles in Tyre Nichols’ death.
Tyre was friends with many people, but he found plenty of respite in solitude, too, with his camera and skateboard.
Sharpton will eulogize Nichols at his funeral at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church Wednesday, Feb. 1. White House officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, are set to attend.
The City of Memphis is preparing to release the full audio and video footage of Tyre Nichols’ fatal encounter with police once its administrative investigation is completed in the next few weeks.
An analysis of the personnel records of the five officers included mainly procedural violations, car accidents and accidental damage of department equipment for four of the officers.
Preston Hemphill, one of two MPD officers suspended in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols in addition to five officers who have been fired, was a member of the now-disbanded SCORPION unit, court records show. Seventh MPD officer relieved of duty as more personnel actions are ‘imminent'Related stories:
President Joe Biden told the family last week he would make passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in Congress a priority.Related story:
Rev. Al Sharpton will give Tyre Nichols’ eulogy.
The initial information released by police in the Tyre Nichols case differed significantly in some respects from what was shown on video footage released to the public last week.
Leaders of the sunset protest demanded the names of every officer involved in Nichols’ death and that they all be charged. Meanwhile, the parents of Nichols were among a smaller group that gathered Monday evening in the Brandywine subdivision where Nichols was beaten by police the night they stopped him.
A seventh Memphis Police officer under investigation and off the job is not identified. But police brass say he and officer Preston Hemphill have been relieved of duty since the day after Tyre Nichols was beaten by police in southeast Memphis.
Three Memphis firefighters have been fired for violating “numerous” department protocols in the treatment of Tyre Nichols, the Memphis Fire Department announced.
News of Preston Hemphill being relieved of duty caused attorneys representing the family of Tyre Nichols to question the level of transparency provided by the Memphis Police Department.Related story:
The Memphis Police Department confirmed Monday, Jan. 30, that Officer Preston Hemphill has been relieved of duty and it plans “to have additional information to share ... once it becomes available.”
The Daily Memphian analyzed the earliest available footage of the Nichols traffic stop in detail, creating a moment-by-moment timeline of the Memphis Police Department officers’ increasingly aggressive responses, even as Nichols himself remains calm and compliant.
The Memphis Police Department’s SCORPION unit, which MPD announced Saturday is being disbanded, is reminiscent of a controversial defunct unit in Atlanta over which MPD Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis was once in charge. Related story:
The crowd at Handy Park heard Downtown Memphis Commission President Paul Young ask, “the question for our city is: what are we going to next?”
MPD released a tweet Saturday that said: “In the process of listening intently to the family of Tyre Nichols, community leaders and the uninvolved officers ... it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION Unit.”
“I was just trying to turn a negative into a positive. That’s my main goal today.”
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. announced the suspensions and investigation Friday, Jan. 27, after viewing the video of the incident.
Protesters blocked the I-55 bridge for hours. Traffic was backed up as far as I-40 and Elvis Presley Boulevard. By 10 p.m., traffic was moving again on I-55. Some protesters returned to Martyrs Park.