A sixth Memphis police officer involved in the death of Tyre Nichols has been relieved of duty.
According to a statement released by attorneys for the Nichols’ family, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, Preston Hemphill was relieved of duty on Monday, January 30th.
“Officer Preston Hemphill can be seen on video violently pulling Nichols from his car while hitting him on the ground with a Taser, later saying ‘I hope they stomp his a**’ after Nichols ran away.”
The statement also said that Hemphill has not been terminated or charged. It also said that Hemphill was “reportedly relieved of duty weeks ago.”
“Why is his identity and the role he played in Tyre’s death just now coming to light,” the statement said. “We have asked from the beginning that the Memphis Police Department be transparent with the family and the community — this news seems to indicate that they haven’t risen to the occasion. It certainly begs the question why the white officer involved in this brutal attack was shielded and protected from the public eye, and to date from sufficient discipline and accountability. The Memphis Police Department owes us all answers.”
The five other officers Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and Desmond Mills Jr. have been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, and two counts of official misconduct and official oppression.