A portrait of Tyre Nichols is displayed at a memorial service for him on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023 in Memphis, Tenn. Nichols was killed during a traffic stop with Memphis Police on Jan. 7.
Adrian Sainz/AP Photo
An officer involved in the arrest of Tyre Nichols — a Black man who was severely beaten by police in Memphis, Tennessee, and later died — has been “relieved of duty,” authorities said on Monday.
Officer Preston Hemphill is now on paid administrative leave “pending the outcome of the investigation,” a spokesman for the Memphis Police Department told Insider.
Hemphill joined the Memphis Police Department in 2018.
It was not immediately clear what role Hemphill played in the arrest of Tyre Nichols.
Authorities say 29-year-old Nichols was brutally beaten by five now-fired Memphis Police Department police officers during a traffic stop on January 7.
Nichols, a father, was hospitalized in critical condition and died three days later.
The five other police officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith, and Desmond Mills Jr. — were fired and indicted last week on murder and other charges in connection to Nichols’ death.
On Friday, officials released video of Nichols’ arrest, which shows him being tased, pepper sprayed, and punched multiple times. Once in handcuffs, Nichols was observed slumping to the ground after the brutal beating.
The officers involved in Nichols’ arrest were members of the MPD’s SCORPION unit, a specialized unit formed in 2021 to fight violent street crime. On Saturday, in the wake of protests against Nichols’ death, the unit was disbanded.