Memphis, TN (1/31/2023) – Three Memphis Fire Department (MFD) personnel were fired Monday in connection to the death of Tyre Nichols.
MFD identified the employees as EMTs Robert Long and JaMichaeal Sandridge and Lt. Michelle Whitaker.
MFD was dispatched about 8:30 p.m. Jan. 7 to “a person pepper sprayed” at the intersection of East Raines and Ross roads, the department said in a news release.
The firefighters were then directed to Ross Road and Castlegate, where Nichols was found handcuffed on the ground leaning against a police vehicle, MFD said.
The department’s investigation found that two EMTs failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment of Mr. Nichols, and that the EMTs along with Whitaker violated numerous” department policies and protocols.
“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,” MFD said in a statement.
