One of the former Memphis police officers involved in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols texted a photo of the “obviously injured” Black man to at least five other people.
Ex-officer Demetrius Haley took two photos of Nichols after he was beaten and handcuffed by police during a January 7 traffic stop, according to a Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission document obtained by ABC News.
Haley admitted that he texted one of the photos to a group of five people including a civilian employee, two Memphis police officers, and a “female acquaintance.” An administrative investigation concluded that a sixth person also received the same photo, per the document.
According to the document, Haley’s actions violated a department policy that bars officers from sharing information related to official police matters “without prior approval or subpoena, except to authorized persons.”
The document led to the decertification of Haley and four other former officers charged with second-degree murder for their role in Nichols’ death, which occurred three days after the violent traffic stop.
A sixth officer was also fired in connection with the fatal beating caught on body camera footage released last month.
On Tuesday (February 7), Jennifer Sink, Memphis’ chief legal officer, said seven more Memphis officers would be facing discipline over the incident where police kicked, punched, and struck Nichols with a baton, per body camera footage.
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