Following an administrative investigation, the Memphis Police Department says five officers “violated multiple department policies, including excessive use of force, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid. Those five officers were terminated Jan. 20.
Former officers Tadarrius Bean, 24; Demetrius Haley, 30; Emmitt Martin III, 30; Desmond Mills, Jr., 32; and Justin Smith, 28; were last week
arrested and charged in the death of Nichols
.
All were charged with one count of second-degree murder, aggravated assault-acting in concert, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct and one count of official oppression according to court records, reports the
Commercial Appeal
. A Shelby County Grand Jury returned a seven-count indictment against the officers Jan. 26.
According to the Memphis Police Department, four of the five officers involved in the incident have been
with the department less than five years
. Mills was hired in March 2017. In March 2018 both Smith and Martin were hired. Then, Bean and Haley were hired in August 2020.
Two of the five officers were previously college football players and two others had some related experience, one as a college intern and the other in corrections. Haley worked for the Shelby County Corrections Department before joining the police department, reports
CBS News
. Bean previously worked at a fast-rood restaurant and AT&T and interned with law enforcement at the University of Mississippi while in college. Martin played college football at Bethel University. Mills also is a former athlete and played football at West Virginia State University.