Two Shelby County, Tennessee, sheriff's deputies have been relieved from duty, pending an internal investigation into their roles in the death of Tyre Nichols.
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office tweeted the following statement from Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. on Friday: "Having watched the videotape for the first time tonight, I have concerns about two deputies who appeared on the scene following the physical confrontation between police and Tyre Nichols. I have launched an internal investigation into the conduct of these deputies to determined what occurred and if any policies were violated. Both of these deputies have been relieved of duty pending the outcome of this administrative investigation."
The announcement came the day that Memphis Police released bodycam footage of the Jan. 7 traffic stop involving five Black officers and Nichols. The 29-year-old man died three days later.
On Wednesday in a video released on YouTube, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis said the department fired the five officers involved in the incident with Nichols that led to his death, according to Memphis' Commercial Appeal.
"As you know, five Memphis Police officers were terminated last week," Davis said in the four-minute video. "These officers were found to be directly responsible for the physical abuse of Mr. Nichols. Concurrent with that investigation, other MPD officers are still under investigation for department policy violations. Some infractions are less egregious than others."
Davis said that the department wants "honesty and transparency, and there is absolute accountability for those responsible for Tyre's death."
According to USA Today, court records show all five former officers —Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmit Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr. — face charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression.
All of the officers are out on bonds of between $250,000 to $350,000 each, according to the report.
The released videos show the officers involved in two "confrontations" with Nichols. He was hospitalized in critical condition following the incident and died three days later, the report said.
Davis called the officers' actions during the incident "heinous, reckless, and inhumane" during her video statement Wednesday.
The Shelby County deputies arrived at the scene later, but video shows that they did not offer Nichols any aid for the injuries he sustained at the hands of the Memphis officers, The Hill reported Saturday.
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