1/ A sixth Memphis police officer “has been relieved of duty” for his involvement in the beating and subsequent death of Tyre Nichols by police officers. Five Black officers have been fired by the department and charged with second-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with Nichols’s death. The sixth officer, Preston Hemphill, has been suspended from duty and has not been charged. Hemphill is white. Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was stopped by police on Jan. 7 for an alleged traffic violation. Videos show police officers kicking Nichols in the head, pepper-spraying him, hitting him repeatedly with a baton, and using a Taser on him after he was pulled over purportedly for reckless driving. Nichols appeared subdued and defenseless, and showed no signs of fighting back in the videos of the incident. He died three days later. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / NPR / CNBC / Wall Street Journal)
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2023/01/30/day-741/