A Tennessee regulatory board concluded that two emergency medical technicians neglected to provide medical care to Tyre Nichols for about 20 minutes as he lay on the ground after being assaulted by five officers, leading to the suspension of their licences.
JaMichael Sandridge and Robert Long had their licences suspended by the state’s Emergency Medical Services Board on Friday after they failed to attempt to treat Nichols for 19 minutes while they were on the scene.
Nichols was “obviously in agony,” unable to maintain a seated position, and repeatedly laid facedown during the meeting, according to Matthew Gibbs of the general counsel’s office for the state public health department.
Previous Post Republicans Remove Ilhan Omar Off A High-profile House Committee
“Neither Mr. Long nor Mr. Sandridge conducted a primary or secondary investigation. There were no vital signs taken. The whole person was not examined from head to toe,” he claimed.
Gibbs claimed that neither provided Nichols oxygen and that Sandridge, the more skilled EMT, did not give intravenous fluids or keep track of Nichols’ heartbeat.
After the incident on January 7, Nichols was brought to a hospital where he passed away three days later.
Following their attendance at the site of Nichols’ deadly arrest earlier this month, Sandridge and Long were discharged from the Memphis Fire Department earlier this week. The department found that the evaluation of Nichols that they and a lieutenant, Michelle Whitaker, conducted was not “sufficient.”
The licences of Sandridge and Long have been temporarily suspended, according to Gibbs, and the board will evaluate a “full scope of disciplinary criteria” based on the evidence later.
The Memphis Police Department has fired five officers, including one who was also present at the incident and is seen in the video removing Nichols from his car, who they claim were directly engaged in the beating of Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man.
The other cop is white, while the other five officers actively involved in the beating are Black.
Each of the five officers is accused of several offences, including second-degree murder. Additional officers might be subject to disciplinary punishment, according to the police department, whose investigation is still underway.
