One of the former Memphis police officers accused of the murder of Tire Nichols allegedly beat up a prison inmate while he was working as a correctional officer.
Demetrius Haley, 30, was accused in a 2016 lawsuit filed by Cordarlrius Sledge, 34, of participating in a violent caning within the Shelby County Division of Corrections.
“That could have been me,” Sledge told an outlet. “I could be dead. As it is, my body still hurts from the beatings. It will hurt for life.’
Haley is one of five former Memphis police officers charged with the brutal murder of Nichols, 29, who was pulled over by officers on Jan. 7 as he was driving home before being wrestled from his car, tasered and ran away.
The officers caught up with him a few minutes later and brutally beat him, holding his wrists while punching and kicking him.
Before his January 2023 arrest in connection with the death of Tire Nichols, Demetrius Haley, 30, was charged with a 2015 brutal assault on a prison inmate
Cordarlrius Sledge, 34, accused Haley of participating in a brutal caning within the Shelby County Division of Corrections in May 2015
Haley is one of five former Memphis police officers charged in the brutal murder of Nichols, 29, who was pulled over by officers while driving home on Jan. 7
Video of the incident was released by the Memphis Police Department on Friday, sparking nationwide outrage and protests over the beatings.
Nichols was so brutally abused that he died in hospital on January 10 from injuries sustained.
In an interview with the New York Post, Sledge addressed the lawsuit he had filed against the institution and officials.
The former inmate claimed Haley was one of the most vicious attackers in the group. The attack in question took place on May 16, 2015 inside the facility.
Sledge, who was serving a three-year sentence for aggravated assault, filed the lawsuit himself, claiming the group of correctional officers hit him while looking for a cell phone.
“When they came in to do one of their little random searches, they called me and two other guys into the shower area to strip search them,” Sledge told NBC News.
“I had some contraband on me and tried to flush it down the toilet but they didn’t follow protocol. Haley was the meanest,” said Sledge.
Haley joined the Memphis Police Department in August 2020
These are the five former police officers who were recently arrested and charged in the death of Tire Nichols
The man accused another officer of banging his face against a sink.
“Then they started beating me,” he said. “They picked me up and banged my head against the sink and I passed out.”
The former inmate said when he woke up after passing out during the attack, he woke up in his bed with blood pouring from his ear.
“There was so much blood on my pillow. It damaged my right ear for life,” he said.
Sledge told the Post he received an apology from the Shelby County Corrections Department warden, but nothing from Haley.
The incident didn’t seem to affect the former correctional officer’s career, as he later joined the Memphis Police Department in 2020.
Former Memphis Police Officers Tadarrius Bean (left) and Emmitt Martin III (right)
Former Memphis Police Officers Justin Smith (left) and Desmond Mills Jr. (right)
Court records show that Haley denied allegations regarding Sledge’s caning.
The lawsuit was later dismissed after the plaintiff failed to provide the court with the evidence requested.
Although the lawsuit was dismissed, Sledge said he couldn’t believe it when he heard that Haley had become a police officer.
“He was promoted from Correctional Officer to Police Officer,” Sledge said. ‘I couldn’t believe my damn eyes.’
Haley was arrested along with fellow former officers Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith and was charged with second-degree murder Thursday.
In addition to second-degree murder, the five were also charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, misconduct and suppression of office.
Second-degree murder, referred to as “knowing murder” by the Memphis District Attorney, carries a penalty of 15 to 60 years in prison under Tennessee law.
Tire Nichols is pictured in hospital after the incident. The 29-year-old from Memphis died on January 10 of cardiac arrest and kidney failure
On Thursday afternoon, prosecutor Steve Mulroy briefed the press and said his team had acted “swiftly but also fairly” to review the case that led to the charges against the five officers.
All five former police departments were arrested and held on bail of up to $350,000.
Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx driver, was pulled over by Memphis police on Jan. 7 after originally being reported as reckless driving.
This interaction led to a violent confrontation that landed him in the hospital, where he died of “profuse bleeding from severe beatings” three days later.
He reportedly suffered cardiac arrest and kidney failure after the allegedly brutal treatment of officers.
WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AND DISTURBING CONTENT
Nichols’ car was pulled over at 8:24 p.m. on January 7 in southeast Memphis
Nichols gets to his feet and runs. An officer yells, “Taser, Taser!” Nichols keeps walking, partially removing his shirt
Video was finally released Friday by the Memphis Police Department showing the beatings.
The video shows Nichols yelling for his mother several times during the January 7 brutal attack, which took place just 80 meters from his home.
‘Mummy! Mummy!’ Nichols screams as he is pinned to the ground by several officers.
In one video, the FedEx driver is pepper sprayed in the face, kicked and hit on the head, and beaten with a metal baton.
“Look out — I’m going to beat you up,” an officer tells Nichols. He hits him and then walks away at 8:35 p.m., the baton still in his right hand.
Outrage over the video has prompted police departments across the country to brace for riots, with protesters expressing outrage at the man’s death.
Officers wrestle with Nichols, who is on the ground
Nichols is seen leaning against the car, bloodied and barely conscious
Nichols appears to be leaning against the car with no one looking at him
The officers in the video stand around talking while Nichols groans