29 January 2023 , 13:40
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One of the police officers charged with murder over the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols once nearly killed an inmate while working as a prison officer, a 2016 lawsuit claims.
The accusations stem from the time former-Memphis cop Demetrius Haley, 30, worked at Shelby County Division of Corrections as a prison officer.
Ex-inmate Cordarlrius Sledge, 34, claimed Haley beat him up while searching his cell for contraband.
According to court papers Haley and another officer punched Mr Sledge in the face while a further guard was accused of slamming his face into a sink during the 2015 incident.
“That could have been me,” Mr Sledge said. “I could be dead.”
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Horrifying footage showed Tyre Nichols being beat to death (Memphis Police Force)He continued: “I had some contraband on me and I was trying to flush it down the toilet but they didn’t follow protocol. Haley was the most vicious."
The ex-convict said he got an apology from the prison but nothing from Haley, who later went on to join the Memphis police department.
Haley denied that he assaulted Sledge and the lawsuit was dismissed after Sledge failed to provide the court with requested information.
Demetrius Haley in a mugshot released by police (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)“He got a promotion, from corrections officer to police officer,” Sledge said. “I didn’t believe my damn eyes.”
Haley denied in court papers that he assaulted Sledge. The lawsuit was dismissed after Sledge failed to provide the court with requested information.
Mr Nichols, who was dad to a four-year-old boy, was on his way home from taking pictures of the sunset at a local park when he was pulled over by the five police officers including Haley.
Tyre Nichols died three days after being brutally beaten (Twitter)Following the savage attack he was left propped up against a car for 20 minutes without being given any first aid and died three days later.
In the shocking footage, released on Friday, the 29-year-old can be heard repeatedly calling for his mum as the officers repeatedly punch, kick and hit him with a baton.
Faceing charges alongside Haley are former officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith.
His distraught mum, RowVaughn Wells, has urged parents not to allow their children to watch the "horrific" footage.
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She also said her son was about 230ft (70m) from home when the officers "murdered him".
The footage shows officers savagely beating the 29-year-old for three minutes during which the victim is pepper-sprayed, hit with a stun gun, restrained and kicked.
Demetrius Haley has been fired as a Memphis Police Department officer (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)The incident has received widspread condemnation even from former-President Donald Trump.
Speaking a day after authorities released the footage, the former-President said: "I thought it was terrible. He was in such trouble. He was just being pummeled. Now that should never have happened."