Police officer takes photos of Tire Nichols handcuffed and injured after stop in US

One of the officers fired for participating in the shooting of Tire Nichols in Memphis took a photo of the 29-year-old man as he was injured, handcuffed and leaning against a police car, and sent the image to five people, local TV Wreg reported Tuesday. ).

The action violates police department policy, says a report submitted to a state board. The agent shared the photo with other officers and an acquaintance who is not a public official — sending police information to an unauthorized recipient without approval from superiors is prohibited.

Earlier Tuesday, Memphis City Attorney Jennifer Sink announced that at least seven more officers will face disciplinary charges for actions related to Nichols’s death. Thus, 13 police officers in all can be punished in the case – six have already been fired and, of these, five face charges of second-degree murder.

The recent report also showed that one of the officers involved placed his uniform camera inside the cruiser at one point in the stop, even though local policy requires officers to activate their cameras during all street activities.

Tire Nichols was stopped by the police a few meters from his mother’s home and beaten by the officers, who were black like him, on January 7. Police officers claimed he was pulled over for reckless driving, but the justification is disputed. Nichols died three days later from the aftermath of his injuries.

Despite the fact that the episode took place in the first week of the year, it only became public knowledge three weeks later, when images of Nichols’ beating, recorded by cameras on the police uniforms, were released. Protests took place in Memphis and other parts of the US.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said the case is an example of officers operating in a kind of “ego-based, herd behavior.” “A lot went wrong that January 7th, and this has turned into a tragic situation.”

In addition to the officers, three members of the fire department were fired for failing to provide Nichols with adequate medical treatment. District Attorney Steve Mulroy said other officers could still face criminal charges as the investigation progresses.

On the 29th, the local police department permanently closed the activities of the unit responsible for Nichols’s death. The group had been created in 2021 and was called Scorpion, an English acronym for “operation against street crimes to restore peace in our neighborhoods”.

Nichols’ funeral took place on the 1st and was attended by symbols of the fight against police violence, such as Reverend Al Sharpton, as well as relatives of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two other victims of similar circumstances. US Vice President Kamala Harris also attended and championed police reform.

Since the murder of Floyd, a legislative reform that bears his name has been pending in the US Congress to, among other things, strengthen punishments for misconduct by agents. The content, however, is stalled in the Senate due to opposition from Republican congressmen.

A visual review by The New York Times concluded that there is no evidence, verbal or physical, that Nichols posed a potential threat to officers. The six, however, used physical force and intensified the aggressions even when Nichols was almost unconscious.

Category associations allege that the department committed violations by firing agents. Lieutenant Essica Cage-Rosario, president of the Memphis Police Association, said she told the five fired that the union opposed the department’s decision to fire them before investigations were complete.

President Joe Biden, who had already spoken about the case and expressed solidarity with the Nichols family, also addressed him again this Tuesday, during his first State of the Union address.

“I know most cops are good,” he said. “But what happened to Tire happens all too often. We have to do better. Give agents the training they need, have higher standards and help them succeed in keeping everyone safe.”