A state panel on Friday decertified three Memphis police officers accused of beating Tire Nichols to death in a process that will bar police officers from enforcing the law in Tennessee.
Former officers Tadarrius Bean, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III, Demetrius Haley and Desmond Mills Jr. face second-degree murder charges in the death of Nichols after a Jan. 7 traffic stop.
The Memphis Police Department fired the officers and recommended revoking their certification after an internal affairs investigation found the officers violated multiple department policies.
In a hearing Friday in Nashville, the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission — the state’s board for law enforcement certification and decertification — decided to decertify Smith, Martin and Haley. The board also approved an earlier decision by Mills to waive his certification.
Related:Administrative hearing records indicate deception and negligence in the beating of Tire Nichols
Neither the men nor their attorneys attended a brief hearing Thursday in Nashville, nor were they present for Friday’s hearing. Former officers will have 30 days to appeal the decision.
The board will consider decertifying Lt. DeWayne Smith, a 24-year-old veteran who supervised the officers, at a later date. Smith retired on March 1 before he could be fired.
The Memphis Police Department initially decided to delay Smith’s decertification due to confusion over whether a retired officer could be decertified. But at Thursday’s hearing, department officials said it plans to move forward with decertification.
The commission has yet to review Bean’s decertification.
USA Today