Two deputies from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in Memphis, Tennessee, have been relieved of duty after the release of footage from Tyre Nichols’s arrest in which officers severely beat him.
Sheriff Floyd Banner Jr. released a statement a couple of hours after the footage appeared online saying he had “concerns” about two deputies who appeared on the scene during the physical confrontation between Memphis police officers and Nichols, a 29-year-old man who was fatally injured due to the confrontation on Jan. 7.
VIDEO FOOTAGE OF OFFICERS BEATING TYRE NICHOLS RELEASED
“I have launched an internal investigation into the conduct of these deputies to determine what occurred and if any policies were violated,” Banner said. “Both of these deputies have been relieved of duty pending the outcome of this administrative investigation.”
— ShelbyTNSheriff (@ShelbyTNSheriff) January 28, 2023
The statement did not specify which actions the deputies took during the confrontation spurred the investigation. However, the four videos released show officers beating, pepper-spraying, and aggressively wrestling Nichols on the ground.
The names of the county deputies have not been released.
Officers are seen standing around Nichols as he struggles to stay conscious and emergency responders tend to him, commenting to each other on their role in the arrest and various injuries they received during the confrontation. One officer complains about his knee and another about his leg.
The footage triggered protests in Memphis, Washington, D.C., and New York.
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Former officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith are charged with second-degree murder, two counts of official misconduct, one count of official oppression, aggravated assault-act in concert, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping.
Haley, Martin, and Smith are in jail on $350,000 bond, and Bean and Mills were booked on $250,000 bond.
