(Reuters) – Personnel files released Wednesday by the Memphis Police Department detail previous disciplinary cases involving four of the five former officers charged with murder in the beating death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols earlier this month.
Demetrius Haley and Emmitt Martin were each disciplined twice since 2019. Justin Smith and Desmond Mills were disciplined once during their careers, according to the files.
Tadarrius Bean has not been disciplined by the department, according to the files.
Emmitt Martin
The department suspended Martin without pay on Feb. 5, 2021, for violating policy on domestic dispute calls. Martin admitted to not completing an offense report as required about the Sept. 17, 2020 call, believing it was unnecessary because all persons involved were intoxicated and one asked that a report not be filed.
The department suspended Martin without pay from June 16-18, 2019, for violating policy after a loaded revolver was discovered in a police vehicle. Martin said he did not complete a thorough inspection after he and his partner detained two people in the car on March 10, 2019.
Demetrius Haley
The department reprimanded Haley for not filing a report after he used physical force while assisting another officer in the arrest of a woman on Feb. 21, 2021. The woman accused another officer, who resigned months later, of dislocating her shoulder during the arrest.
The department gave Haley a traffic citation, which was later dismissed, after he lost control of his police vehicle, hit a curb and struck a stop sign. Haley said he was on the way to back up an officer on an aggravated assault call on Aug. 14, 2021.
Desmond Mills
The department reprimanded Mills for not filing a required report after he was called by other officers for backup on a traffic stop. Mills took a young woman to the ground to be handcuffed after she resisted arrest on March 21, 2019.
The department reprimanded Mills after he accidentally dropped his personal digital assistant while conducting a traffic stop on March 12, 2019. He violated policy of rough or careless handling of the equipment, which was run over by another vehicle.
Justin Smith
The department suspended Smith without pay from July 10-11, 2021, for violating policy on rough or careless handling of equipment, and ordered remedial driver training after he caused a multi-car accident while driving a police vehicle in non-emergency mode on Jan. 24, 2021. He was also cited for failure to maintain proper control.
Smith was speeding in a 40 mile-per-hour lane when he rear-ended a pickup truck, which then struck another car. Smith, the driver of the truck, and the driver and passenger of the third vehicle were all taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
(Reporting by Tyler Clifford; editing by Donna Bryson and Jonathan Oatis)
