Three personnel from the Memphis Fire Department (MFD) have been fired for failure to “conduct an adequate patient assessment” of Tyre Nichols.
According to a statement released by the MFD, EMT-Basic Robert Long, EMT-Advanced JaMicheal Sandridge, and Lt. Michelle Whitaker were fired for violating “numerous MFD policies and protocols.”
The Memphis Police Department called the Memphis Fire Dispatch on January 7th at 8:31 p.m. to “respond to a person pepper sprayed at the intersection of E. Raines Road. Responders were dispatched at 8:32 p.m., and arrived at the scene at 8:36 p.m.
“Our investigation has concluded that the two MT’s responded based on the initial nature of the call (person pepper sprayed) and information they were told on the scene and failed to conduct an adequate patient assessment of Mr. Nichols,” said the statement.
“After their initial interaction with Mr. Nichols, they requested an ambulance to respond. Emergency Unit 28 was dispatched at 8:46 p.m., arrived on the scene at 8:55 p.m., initiated patient care and transported Mr. Nichols to St. Francis Hospital at 9:08 p.m.
“After concluding our internal investigation, it was determined that EMT-B Long, EMT-A Sandridge and Lt. Whitaker violated numerous MFD Policies and Protocols. As a result, EMT-B Long, EMT-A Sandridge and Lt. Whitaker have been terminated from the Memphis Fire Department.”
Nichols died on January 10th, three days after his encounter with the Memphis Police Department on January 7th.
