A sixth Memphis police officer has been relieved of duty in connection to the assault and death investigation of Tyre Nichols, a Memphis Police Department (MPD) official announced on Monday.
MPD Officer Preston Hemphill was suspended and is on administrative leave, said Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph. It is unclear what Hemphill’s role was in the Jan. 7 incident.
Hemphill’s lawyer, Lee Gerald, said in a statement that Hemphill was the third officer at a traffic stop that preceded the violent arrest and that he activated his body camera. But Hemphill was not at the scene where Nichols was beaten, Gerald said….