MEMPHIS, TENN. — Four former Memphis Police Officers are a step closer to no longer being able to ever wear the badge in Tennessee.
Friday, members of the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) voted to approve the decertification of former MPD officers Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith.
This comes after an informal committee made the recommendation for decertification at a hearing in Nashville yesterday.
The officers have 30 days to respond. They can either appeal or comply. If they comply, their decertification is final, and they can no longer work in law enforcement in Tennessee.
If they appeal, the process moves to a trial phase. It will go back before the commission, where the officers or their attorneys would be allowed to present evidence and additional information.
If decertified, officers can appeal POST’s decision in Davidson County Chancery Court.
A fourth officer, Desmond Mills, Jr., has already agreed to voluntarily surrender his police certification.
MPD has also requested decertification for former officers Taddarius Bean and Preston Hemphill. Bean’s attorney confirmed with News Channel 3 that they requested a new date for an informal hearing which hasn’t been set. Hemphill’s attorney says they asked POST to put the proceedings on hold for now.
Lieutenant DeWayne Smith, who was the supervisor on the scene the night of Nichols’ traffic stop, is also facing decertification. Smith retired from MPD on March 1, a day before an administrative hearing was held that would have led to his termination.
POST still has to send Smith an official notification and set a date for an informal hearing.
