Department Of Justice Starts External Investigation of Memphis Police Department

According to a weekly update from Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, another investigation into the fatal beating of Trye Nichols by former five Memphis police officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith has been initiated.

The mayor said several agencies not connected to the Memphis Police Department will conduct their own independent reviews of the crime and the police department, looking into the “use of force” policies that were implemented by the Memphis Police Department.

The external agencies are the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (“COPS”) through the Collaborative Reform Initial Technical Assistant Center (“CRI-TAC”) program. There will also be an investigation from the International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP) to conduct a review of the Memphis Police Department. The Memphis Police Department’s Special Units will also be evaluated.

Strickland said, “While we no doubt have a long way to go on the road to healing, hopefully through our actions, citizens will see we are working to be better and that we are heading down the right path.”

BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported that Memphis Police Officer Preston Hemphill, the sixth and lone white officer identified in the investigation of Nichols’ death, has been terminated for his role in the actions taken by the police officers.

A statement from the Memphis Police Department said more discipline is in store for several other MPD officers who are under investigation for departmental policy violations.

The five aforementioned police officers have been terminated from the Memphis Police Department and indicted for second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and two charges of aggravated kidnapping.

Nichols died at a Memphis hospital three days after fire department workers took him to the hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. Nichols was stopped by police officers and pulled over for reckless driving on January 7 before the officers beat him.