Did Tyre Nichols Die Due to Medical Negligence? Video Raises Questions over EMT Response

Days after Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old African-American Memphis resident, died as a result of a deadly encounter with the police who had already been fired, three Memphis Fire Department (MFD) personnel and a driver who responded to the incident have been released from their duties pending an investigation.

As per MFD, EMTs JaMichael Sandridge, Robert Long and Lieutenant Michelle Whitaker violated protocols and were fired. That comes after Tyre Nichols’ bodycam footage showing the brutal encounter between Nichols and police was released to the public on Friday.

In a press release, the Memphis Police Department said:

EMTs Robert Long and JaMicheal Sandridge and Lieutenant Michelle Whitaker failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment on Tyre Nichols and violated numerous MFD protocols and policies.

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Did medical negligence take Tyre Nichols’s life?

Three Memphis fire personnel fired for negligence. (Photo via Instagram/dailyblastlive)

After Nichols’ bodycam video was released to the public, several medical experts and former police personnel came forward with their opinions on what could have been done to save Nichols’s life.

As per News3 channel, a retired firefighter who saw the footage of Tyre Nichols’s brutal beating, said that the 29-year-old could have been saved if the EMTs who were involved in the fatal incident followed the standard medical care practices.

Another retired Memphis firefighter said that the EMTs should have at least started an IV, checked Tyre Nichols’ blood pressure and given him oxygen and a band-aid to stop the bleeding.

As per the Tennessee Department of Health Bureau of Health Licensure and Regulation Division of Emergency Medical Services, when the EMTs arrive, their priority is to perform the initial survey, provide emergency care through careful assessment, and recognize injuries and illness. All that minimal medical assistance was delayed in Nichols' case, though.

In Tyre Nichols’ EMT video, it showed that the EMTs did lean Nichols over, but they checked his pockets and took out his wallet. And as Nichols bled and lay in pain on the road, the officers, instead of doing the necessary medical checkup, were looking for their glasses that they lost during the encounter.

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Nicols was handcuffed, punched and kicked

Ben Crump, one of the lawyers for Nichols’ family said:

He’s been kicked. He’s been punched. He’s been hit with police sticks, and he is there in handcuffs moaning on the ground, and everyone is walking around like it is business as usual.

Following the release of the video, protesters marched along Interstate 55 in Memphis. In the video, Nichols can be seen crying and moaning in pain as officers handcuffed and punched him.

“I didn't do anything, I'm just trying to get home,” Nichols said as officers took him out of his car and made him lie down on his stomach. Officers then forced him to the ground and pepper sprayed him in the face."

Nichols' bodycam footage revealed how he was tortured. (Photo via Instagram/sacsocialjusticeevents)

The 29-year-old Memphis resident succumbed to his injuries on January 10, 2023. Nichols who was pepper-sprayed and brutally beaten on January 7, died three days later as a result of his deadly injuries and trauma.

An independent autopsy revealed that the young man died from extensive bleeding after being punched, kicked, and beaten by Memphis Police Department officers.

While the final results of the forensic examination (autopsy) and toxicology report are still pending, the delay in delivering the bare minimum medical assistance and transportation may have contributed to Nichols' death.