A former Memphis Police officer who has been charged in Tyre Nichols’ death had a previous record of policy violations and accusations of excessive force as a correctional officer, according to personnel records.
Demetrius Haley was previously a correctional officer at a prison run by the Shelby County Division of Corrections from 2015 to 2020. In his work as a corrections officer, an inmate named Cordarius Sledge accused Haley of using chemical spray on him, constituting excessive force, in 2015. However, an investigation didn’t find any violations of use of force policies of the department, and found allegations unsubstantiated.
Records show Sledge was treated for a fractured right temporal bone and perforated eardrum, according to The Associated Press. Thirty-four inmates signed a letter to the corrections director, asking about a response to the reported abuse, in the wake of the incident.
Sledge later filed another lawsuit against Haley and two other correctional officers, in which Sledge alleged Haley and another officer punched him. A federal court later dismissed the lawsuit.
Haley was found in violation of department professionalism, ethics and conduct policy in 2015. Haley gave confidential information to an inmate that he should not have, according to records, per The AP. He also didn’t report when an inmate informed him that he planned to smuggle in contraband.
In another incident, an inmate accused the then-correctional officer of the use of unnecessary force in the midst of a contraband search. Documents showed that Haley took the inmate to the ground, restraining him, after the inmate put contraband in his own mouth, according to The AP. Investigators found use of force justified, despite the inmate’s resulting head injury.
The Associated Press contributed.
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