Two Memphis EMS workers had their licenses suspended Friday for failing to provide urgent care to Tire Nichols after he was severely beaten by Memphis police in January, the Tennessee board said.
Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge, former medics with the Memphis Fire Department, two of three EMTs fired after the fatal beating, could see that Nichols needed help urgently, a member of the Tennessee Board of Emergency Medical Services said.
Sullivan Smith, a board member, said it was “obvious even to a layperson” that the victim “was terribly distraught and needed help.”
“They didn’t provide that help,” Smith added. “They were their best shot, and they couldn’t help.”
Tire Nichols, a 29-year-old Fed Ex employee, was beaten to death for three minutes by a group of Memphis police officers on January 7 and died three days after the event, sparking protests against the police in the United States.
The video images published about the event show the victim sitting next to a police vehicle, collapsed and moaning from the injuries caused by the agents, while Long and Sandridge watched and did nothing to help him.
Tennessee board members viewed the 19-minute surveillance video of the incident on Friday.
“The Department alleges that neither Mr. Sandridge nor Mr. Long provided emergency care and treatment to patient TN, who was clearly in distress during the 19-minute period,” said Matt Gibbs, attorney for the state Department of Health.
It’s likely there were other licensed EMTs on the site, including a supervisor, who could have helped Nichols but didn’t, said another board member, Jeff Beaman.
For her part, Memphis Fire Chief Gina Sweat said the department received a call from police after a man was pepper-sprayed, the New York Post reported.
When EMTs arrived at 8:41 p.m., Nichols was handcuffed to the ground and slumped against the police car, the statement said.
Due to the nature of the call, Long and Sandridge “did not conduct an adequate assessment of the patient,” according to the statement.
The officers linked to the fatal beating were later charged with second-degree murder and other crimes.
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- They denounce that police officers in California shot at least 10 times at a man in a wheelchair and without legs after reporting the fatal beating of Tire Nichols in Memphis
- Two men claim one of the Memphis police officers accused of killing Tire Nichols pointed a gun at them
- Memphis firefighters fired after fatal beating of Tire Nichols