The Memphis Fire Department has fired three employees who responded to the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols earlier this month after an investigation found that they failed to provide adequate medical care at the scene, NBC News reports.
According to the department, EMTs Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge were dispatched to the scene of the initial traffic stop around 8:30 p.m on Jan. 7 due to reports of a “person pepper sprayed”. They were later dispatched to the second location where they found Nichols leaning against a police car after being brutally beaten by five officers.
Long and Sandridge attended to Nichols but the department said they “failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment.” Michelle Whitaker, a lieutenant in the fire department drove them to the scene and remained in the vehicle after arriving.
“Their actions or inactions on the scene that night do not meet the expectations of the Memphis Fire Department and are not reflective of the outstanding service the men and women of the Memphis Fire Department provide daily in our community,” the department said.
Video released on Friday shows five officers violently beating Nichols while he was detained.
Nichols was taken to hospital in critical condition. He died three days later.
