Ex-Memphis Cops Had Prior Suspensions
Four of the five former Memphis Police officers charged in the death of Tyre Nichols had previous infractions with the department. Former officers Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Emmitt Martin, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean were fired last month and are now being charged with murder.
Four of those officers, Haley, Martin, Mills and Smith, were reprimanded or suspended earlier for failure to report when they used physical force, failure to report a domestic dispute, or for damages sustained to their squad cruisers. Bean did not have any reprimands or suspensions in the files.
The cases centering on force focused on whether the officers filed the required reports about the incidents and did not appear to examine if the officers’ use of force was warranted.