SIDELINED

Fire Department Staff Pulled From Active Duty Over Tyre Nichols’ Death

Five Memphis cops were previously fired over what family say was a horrific beating of the 29-year-old Black man, who died three days later.

Two members of the Memphis Fire Department were relieved of duty last week after being part of “initial patient care” for Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Black man who died following his arrest by Memphis Police Department officers. According to the fire department, the staff members were relieved while officials conduct an internal investigation. Five police officers were fired outright following MPD’s own internal investigation for violating “multiple department policies, including excessive use of force, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid,” according to a release by the City of Memphis. While public details from the arrest are still scarce, the city is bracing for the release of video showing what happened to Nichols, who died three days after his arrest. On Monday, his family and its legal team called the arrest “horrific” and compared it to the beating of Rodney King after a private viewing of the still-unreleased video.