MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two Memphis Fire Department EMTs who were fired for failing to aid Tyre Nichols after he was beaten by police had their licenses suspended Friday.
The Emergency Medical Services Board called an emergency meeting in Nashville to rule on license suspensions for EMT Advanced JaMichael Sandridge and EMT Robert Long.
Sandridge and Long were two of the three fire department employees who were fired Jan. 30 for their role in Tyre Nichols’ death.
They ruled that neither Sandridge nor Long gave aid to Nichols, who was clearly in distress. The lapse in care lasted 19 minutes, they said.
The board also said the two didn’t do a primary or secondary survey. Vitals weren’t taken, Nichols didn’t receive high flow oxygen or an IV, and there was no cardiac monitoring.
They voted in favor of suspending their licenses.
“They were his best shot, and they failed him,” one board member said during the hearing.
MFD officials said they were dispatched to a pepper spray call that night. They eventually took Nichols to Saint Francis Hospital.
The board did not address Michelle Whitaker’s actions. The now-former MFD lieutenant was also fired for her involvement that night. Officials said she stayed in the truck.
This investigation is continuing and more actions may be forthcoming.
Nichols, 29, died Jan. 10, three days after a traffic stop in the Hickory Hill neighborhood that left him fighting for his life. Police videos showed several officers beating, kicking and pepper spraying him, then leaving him propped up in the street until medical staff arrived.
Emergency crews were initially dispatched to the scene for a pepper spray incident.
Five Memphis Police officers have been fired and charged with second-degree murder, among other charges. More officers and Shelby County deputies remain under investigation.
The police department has requested that the officers involved be decertified.
