A week after the video of the fatal beating of Tire Nichols, a 29-year-old African-American, was published, the consequences of those images are still ongoing. The Memphis police reported this Friday that a sixth intriguer of the body was fired, while the city’s emergency board unanimously agreed to suspend the licenses of the two paramedics who arrived at the scene and spent a long time without paying attention to the detainee. , turned into a wreck.
An estimated 19 minutes passed before Rober Long and JaMichel Sandridge decided to do their job. The two can be seen on the footage near Nichols, who was writhing in pain on the ground, like it was nothing.
The board certified that, after all this time, neither one nor the other took the pulse, the vital signs of the victim of police brutality, nor did they perform an examination of that person or administer oxygen. Sandridge, who is a specialist, was also authorized to monitor cardiac status and perform resuscitation tasks, but he did not.
The events occurred on January 7. Nichols was taken to the hospital where he died three days later. The autopsy determined that the blows received caused a general internal effusion and that was the cause of his death. Five police officers have already been fired and have since been arrested (released on bail) and charged with murder, kidnapping and other charges.
“They were on the front lines and they weren’t able to help,” said Dr. Sullivan Smith, chairman of the board, referring to the two now-retaliated paramedics. He stressed that it was obvious that Nichols was in trouble.
The chief of the fire department, who is overseeing the response of the emergency medical team, already fired Long and Sandridge earlier this week, as well as Lieutenant Michelle Whitaker, who, according to those responsible, never got out of the truck or he was interested in what was happening on the street.
At the board meeting, voices were heard going so far as to say that inaction by emergency specialists “may have contributed to the death of the patient.” The suspension of more licenses, such as those of supervisors, could still occur if it is shown that they did not intervene to stop the negligence.
The images show how Nichols, handcuffed, after the uniformed officers punched him in the face, kicked him and beat him with a baton viciously all over his body, sprayed him with pepper spray, is sitting on the ground, totally defeated, half lying, leaning against a police car, and sometimes the paramedics help him stay in that position, but basically they leave him alone, without touching him for a long time. It is even seen that for more than half a minute they ignore him, although he has fallen on the ground.
Upon arriving at the scene, a policeman told them that Nichols should go “high”, that is, under the influence of drugs, although there is not a single indication that this is the case. They did nothing to check that point and laughter could be heard in the background. Initially, the emergency teams received the call because someone had been sprayed with pepper spray, but, on the ground, they were not interested in what was happening to that person.
One of those police officers was Preston Hemphill, who, after being removed from service, received his dismissal this Friday. According to the official note, the settlement occurred because he violated “multiple department regulations,” including “personal conduct” and “truthfulness.” He also contradicted the regulations on the use of the taser or electric pistol and the justification for that use.
Hemphill, who was removed from the body days ago along with another colleague, was not included among the five police officers suspended and later prosecuted. However, video showed that he ran after Nichols firing his taser at him. He was involved in the traffic stop of the driver and that he supposed the origin of the event.
At no time have they been able to justify the reason why they stopped Nichols, who was going to his mother’s house to have dinner that Saturday night. They said they gave him a stop for reckless driving, for going the wrong way, but Memphis police chief Cerelyn Davis herself said they had no evidence that this was as the agents described.
