March 2023 Blues Vol 39 No. 3

STREET CRIMES UNITS

STREET CRIMES UNITS Not Even Close. “He got a promotion, from corrections officer to police officer,” Sledge said. “I didn’t believe my damn eyes.” The judge in the case dismissed the lawsuit after Sledge failed to file requested information with the court. Rumors about a possible relationship Nichols had with Haley’s ex-wife also have been circulating. Earlier this week, Memphis Police Department Public Information Officer Major Karen Rudolph told The Star in an emailed statement, “There is no evidence that either of these claims are true,” in response to whether Nichols was targeted in the brutal police beating because he was involved with the spouse of one of the officers or whether one or more of the five former Memphis Police officers were affiliated with the Vice Lords gang. But the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office later told Newsweek that investigators are looking into the rumors about Nichols’ connection with Haley’s ex-wife. “All of this is still under investigation. Those are the things, along with the participation of others, that [are] now the subject of our investigation,” a spokesperson for the Shelby County district attorney told Newsweek in response. Erica Williams, the director of communications at the Shelby County district attorney’s office, clarified to Newsweek that rumors about Nichols having a connection to the woman have not been “confirmed.” “We know that there have been questions about other officers and Fire Department personnel on the scene, persons remotely operating cameras, the potential of false reporting, among other things. We are now at the stage of our investigation where we are looking into all of these matters,” Williams told Newsweek. The law enforcement source who spoke to The Star said Judge James Jones, who has been assigned to the case, will be the last to know about what is in the investigation. “Judges are usually the last to know anything,” he said. 58 The BLUES The BLUES 59 58 The BLUES The BLUES 59 58 The BLUES The BLUES 59