Two of the five former Memphis police officers arrested in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols were previously admonished for failing to file reports about the use of force during arrests, and two others had disciplinary histories that include suspensions.
According to personnel papers provided by The Commercial Appeal, Demetrius Haley, 30, received a letter of reprimand in 2021 for failing to fill a Response to Resistance form after he was accused of using excessive force while handcuffing a woman.
Haley “grabbed the complainant by the arm and turned her around as she resisted arrest,” according to the criminal papers.
According to department regulation, Memphis officers are obligated to file Response to Resistance forms when “any part of the officer’s body [is] used to compel compliance.”
In 2021, Demetrius Haley, 30 years old, was penalized for failing to submit a Response to Resistance form after being accused of using excessive force during an arrest.
According to a news source, the hearing report notes, “Officer Haley stated that he was aware of the policy but had simply miscalculated the amount of force required to require a blue team entry.”
During the hearing, Lieutenant William Acred allegedly described Haley as “a hardworking officer who routinely makes good decisions.”
According to his personnel files, Haley was also engaged in an accident in 2021 when he lost control of his patrol car and smacked a stop sign while driving with lights and sirens activated.
He stated that he crashed while responding to a fellow officer’s request for assistance. An internal charge was eventually dropped.
Desmond Mills Jr., 32, was also handed a written reprimand for failing to file a Response to Resistance form after he took a lady to the ground in March 2019 while attempting to handcuff her following a car accident.
Desmond Mills Jr., 32, was reprimanded for failing to submit a Response to Resistance form after taking a lady to the ground while attempting to handcuff her.
According to The New York Times, the woman claimed she was pummeled by officers, grabbed by the hair, and thrown into a police vehicle.
According to documents provided by the newspaper, body cam footage reveals that two officers fought with her for several minutes and beat her with a baton before Mills and others intervened.
According to the hearing report cited by The Commercial Appeal, “Officer Mills stated he was familiar with completing the response to resistance document in Blue Team, but he did not realize it applied to his actions in this case.”
In a separate incident, Mills was chastised for “rough or careless handling of equipment” after dropping his personal digital assistant, which was then driven over by a vehicle.
In 2019, Emmitt Martin III, 30, was suspended for three days without pay for failing to comply with regulations after failing to check the rear seat of his police car, where a pistol was discovered at the end of his shift.
According to the Commercial Appeal, he earned a one-day suspension without pay in 2020 for failing to make a report after responding to a domestic disturbance call.
According to WREG, Martin stated that he did not believe a report was necessary because everyone in the residence was intoxicated and the persons involved requested that no report be taken.
Officer James Schmedes testified at Martin’s hearing that the officer was “one of the shift’s top producers,” as reported by the Commercial Appeal.
Two individuals earlier alleged that Martin threatened to shoot them in the face with a gun he pulled out on them while armed.
Glenn Harris, 24, and Demarius Hervey, 27, alleged NBC News that former Martin confronted them at a gas station in August 2020, when they were attempting to flee while using marijuana and carrying a firearm.
According to Harris, Martin held him to the ground, placed his gun at his head, and shouted, “I’ll blow your face off.”
In 2021, Justin Smith, age 28, was given a two-day suspension without pay for colliding with a Ford F-150, forcing it to spin and collide with a third vehicle.
Smith was issued a ticket for failing to maintain adequate control while driving his unmarked cruiser, which was not in emergency mode, resulting in his injury.
The Commercial Appeal did not find any reprimands or suspensions for Tadarrius Bean, 24, the fifth former police officer charged in the death of Nichols.
The five former police officers were fired on January 20 after an internal investigation determined they had used excessive force and failed to perform their duty during the attack on Nichols on January 7.
All of the defendants have been charged with second-degree murder, two charges of official misconduct, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one case of official oppression, and one count of aggravated assault.
Two additional cops have been relieved of duty.
Blake Ballin, the attorney for Mills, declined to speak to the press. William Massey, Martin’s attorney, and the Memphis Police Department did not reply to requests for comment.
The other cops’ attorneys were unavailable.
Fox News reported on Tuesday that a Memphis source claimed police will disclose further footage and video from the fatal altercation in the “coming weeks.”
“The City has received many demands for the release of all audio and video material in the case of Tyre Nichols. Jennifer Sink, the city’s chief legal officer, said in a statement that the city is still conducting an administrative inquiry of other staff and that the criminal investigation is ongoing.
“It is vital that the city conduct a comprehensive investigation in order to hold all responsible parties accountable. A premature release of the audio and video could jeopardize our administrative inquiry, she stated.
Sink continued, “The City is preparing to make these recordings public once the administrative investigation is concluded, which is expected within the next few weeks.”
»Ex-Memphis police officers charged in the death of Tyre Nichols have disciplinary histories«