Tennessee sheriff stands down two deputies and orders new investigation into Tyre Nichols’ death

A Tennessee sheriff has suspended two deputies and ordered a new investigation into Tyre Nichols’ death after personally reviewing the sickening video. 

Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. said he had ‘concerns’ about the two deputies who arrived after Nichols was beaten, putting them on leave as he launches an internal review over the officers’ conduct. 

A street cam video of the altercation, which began over a traffic stop, shows two officers, who have not been identified, arriving at the scene after five had beaten and pinned Nichols, 29, to the ground. 

The group of officers could be seen standing around the injured man, first bumping each other as he lays twitching on the ground before an eighth officer appears and paramedics arrive.

In his full statement, Bonner said: ‘Having watched the videotape for the first time tonight, I have concerns about two deputies who arrived on the scene following the physical confrontation between police and Tyre Nichols.

‘I have launched an internal investigation into the conduct of these deputies to determine what occurred and if any policies were violated,’ he added. ‘Both of these deputies have been relieved of duty pending the outcome of this administrative investigation.’ 

The brutal beating caught on police body camera and a street surveillance camera show the group of officers delivering brutal kicks and sucker punches to Nichols as he lies on the ground. 

After they handcuff and pin him to the ground, three other officers arrive and the group can be seen standing by as Nichol is left dragged and propped up to sit. 

The injured man, however, is unable to keep himself sitting and writes and twitches, but the officers do not tend to him, and two are seen fist-bumping each other by the hood of the patrol car. 

Another pair is also seen congratulating each other with a fist-bump, continuing to ignore the flailing Nichols. 

Nichols’ family attorney – Antonio Romanucci, told MSNBC that the two suspended deputies could face criminal charges like the five who were caught on camera beating the 29-year-old. 

‘I will not be at all surprised when more criminal charges come against police officers, Romanucci said. ‘Am I surprised it’s taking this long? 

I’ve been around long enough, I’ve had to wait six months, a year to two years or not at all for charges to come so the fact that at least the administrator part of it is coming.

‘I think we know what’s coming next. They’re going to be looked at criminally also,’ he added. ‘These officers who failed to render aid who did not intervene – they should be looked at administratively and also criminally.’

Bonner has condemned the attack that left Nichols dead  after he was tased, kicked and punched in the head, struck three times with a metal baton, and twice sprayed with pepper spray in the face.

‘I am a second-generation law enforcement officer, and I am troubled by what we all saw captured on video,’ Bonner said in a statement. This horrible incident tarnished the badge that I wear, and many other good officers wear every day.

‘I will do everything in my power to prevent another parent from having to bury their child in such a senseless and tragic way. 

‘My heartfelt condolences are expressed to the family and friends of Tyre Nichols. I am sad and angry about his tragic death,’ he added. 

As the investigation continues over Nichols death, his stepfather Rodney Wells and his lawyer, famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump, said the video demonstrates that other first responders should be reprimanded. 

Wells called for criminal charges against the paramedics who appeared to stand by after his stepson was savagely beaten, while Crump questioned by a white officer who was present at the beginning of Nichols’ traffic stop hasn’t been charged yet. 

‘Everyone – the fire department, paramedics that came out that stood around and didn’t do anything – they’re just as guilty,’ Wells told ABC News following the release of the video.

‘Everyone that was active in the whole scene, the whole video, should be charged,’ he added. 

The five cops who were fired and charged over Nichols’ death are Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr, and Justin Smith. 

They are charged with second-degree murder, assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. 

Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis has said other officers are under investigation for their part in the arrest.

Davis described the five officers’ actions as ‘heinous, reckless and inhumane.’

The video released on Friday night shows Nichols crying out for his mother multiple times during the brutal January 7 assault, which took place just a few blocks from his home.

‘Mom! Mom,’ Nichols yells as he is pinned to the ground by multiple officers who proceed to beat him.

The video shows police rained at least nine blows down on the FedEx worker while screaming profanities throughout the nearly four-minute altercation.

Throughout the videos, officers make claims about Nichols that are not supported by the footage, or what the district attorney or other officials have said about the case. 

In one of the videos, an officer claims that during the initial traffic stop Nichols wrestled for his gun before fleeing. The video does not depict such an incident.

After Nichols was handcuffed and leaning against a police car, several officers claimed that he must have been high, but officers found no drugs at the scene. 

The footage has been widely condemned by police departments and unions across the country. 

The national president of the Fraternal Order of Police issued a scathing statement in response to the video of police beating Nichols.

Patrick Yoes said the officers’ physical confrontation with Nichols ‘does not constitute legitimate police work or a traffic stop gone wrong.’ 

Instead, Yoes called it a ‘criminal assault under the pretext of law.’