One of the former Memphis police officers took photos of Tyre Nichols following his brutal beating and texted it to at least five other people, according to documents released by the Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission on Tuesday.
Officer Demetrius Haley “stood over Nichols as he lay propped against a police car and took photographs,” which he then texted to the other officers involved, as well as to a female acquaintance, The Associated Press reported.
“Your on-duty conduct was unjustly, blatantly unprofessional and unbecoming for a sworn public servant,” the Memphis Police Department wrote, per AP.
What happened to Tyre Nichols?
On Jan. 7, Tyre Nichols was pulled over for a traffic stop for allegedly “driving recklessly.” Haley forced Nichols from the car and sprayed him in the eyes with pepper spray. Nichols broke free at one point and ran away, but officers caught up with him and and became violent, beating Nichols to the point of hospitalization. Three days later, Nichols died from the injuries.
Haley sent the photo of Nichols waiting for medical attention to at least five people, including at least one outside the department, according to police documents. Police officials reported that sharing photos or information from cases or stops was against policy, according to The New York Times.
Five of the officers involved were charged with second-degree murder and were also charged to be de-certified so they can no longer work as police officers in Tennessee, per the Times.
Video capturing the violence of his death was released publicly at the end of January and renewed protests calling for police reform across the U.S.
According to The Guardian, “As many as 13 Memphis officers could end up being disciplined” in connection to the brutality and death in Nichols’ beating.
Who was Tyre Nichols?
Nichols was a father to a four-year-old boy. He formerly worked in Sacramento as a nature photographer and was working in Memphis at FedEx. One of his favorite things to do was go skateboarding and take photos of sunsets.