A state commission that enforces standards for police voted Friday to temporarily suspend a former officer from serving in law enforcement in Tennessee while a federal investigation proceeds into the death of Tyre Nichols.
The vote in Preston Hemphill’s case in front of the Tennessee Police Officer Standards and Training Commission delays the final decision over whether the fired Memphis officer will face a permanent ban on working in law enforcement in the state.
The district attorney decided not to charge Hemphill with a crime for his interactions with Nichols in January. Hemphill hit Nichols with a stun gun at an initial traffic stop. But he did not run after the fleeing man to a second scene where other officers brutally beat Nichols.