Preston Hemphill Wiki, Biography
As protests erupt across the United States, netizens are calling for the arrest of Preston Hemphill, a police officer who allegedly tased Tire Nichols. The former was also believed to be the policeman heard saying “I hope he gets his ass stomped”, in the viral body camera video of the Tire Nichols assault.
Many are calling for the arrest of Preston Hemphill following the death of Tire Nichols. The latter was thrown to the ground, kicked, pepper sprayed and electrocuted by police officers who claimed to be trying to arrest Nichols for reckless driving.
Tire Nichols passed away on January 10, three days after his hospitalization. An independent preliminary autopsy found that Nichols “suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.”
Twitter user @Amberisms_ was one of the first netizens to point out that Preston Hemphill was allegedly behind Nichols’ download. She revealed that he was named in the affidavit. She also attached two photos to her tweet. One of them included Hemphill standing with another officer and posing for the camera. In another image, a person is seen holding what appears to be a taser. The netizen noted that Hemphill wore the same Apple Watch in the first image and on the hands of the person in the second image.
Tennessee Holler, an independent news organization, also tweeted about Hemphill’s alleged involvement. They noted that he was heard saying, “I hope he gets stomped on his ass” in the viral assault video. The post’s Twitter page also questioned why the officer in question was not similarly fired, arrested, and charged as the other black police officers involved.
How old is Preston Hemphill?
Twitter user @sirmaejor, who reported on the death of Tire Nichols, claimed that Hemphill was 26 years old. Newsone discovered Hemphill’s name in a post on the 2019 Open Payrolls website, where he listed him as a “police service technician” in Memphis. A person who performs in this role responds to:
“Traffic Enforcement, Non-Critical Crash Investigation, and Motor Vehicle Status and Code Enforcement.”
It is reportedly an entry-level trainee position where aspirants train to become official police officers.
The following year, Preston Hemphill was recognized as a Memphis “police officer”. Other personal data was not available at the time of writing this article.
It is important to note that official sources have not confirmed that Preston Hemphill was one of the officers involved in the death of Tire Nichols.
Netizens demand the arrest of Preston Hemphill
While the five now black ex-cops are charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault, among other charges, netizens are demanding that Hemphill be arrested as well after Nichols was allegedly subjected to a tas. Some tweets say:
Before Hemphill was recognized as the alleged officer behind the electric shock, Memphis Councilman JB Smiley Jr. urged the Memphis Police Department to fire the person responsible for applying the electric shock to Nichols. In an official statement, Smiley Jr. said:
“The officer who appraised #TyreNichols and forced the other officers to stomp on him needs to be fired. We must end the culture that allows excessive use of force and assumes it is commonplace.
Smiley Jr. also demanded that the police officer who activated Nichols be charged along with the other officers.
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