A sixth officer - identified as Preston Hemphill - was suspended with pay pending a hearing, and a seventh officer who was not immediately identified was relieved of duty without pay, the police department said. No criminal charges have been filed against Hemphill, 26, who joined the force in 2018, or against the seventh, unnamed officer.
A police department spokesperson declined to comment on why suspensions were not announced earlier.
Police Chief Cerelyn Davis has previously said that an unspecified number of officers besides the five initially implicated remained under investigation for policy infractions stemming from the ill-fated arrest of Nichols during a Jan. 7 traffic stop.
The five officers dismissed on Jan. 20 - all of them Black - were charged Thursday with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and oppression in the fatal beating of Nichols.
A police department spokesperson declined to comment on why suspensions were not announced earlier.
Police Chief Cerelyn Davis has previously said that an unspecified number of officers besides the five initially implicated remained under investigation for policy infractions stemming from the ill-fated arrest of Nichols during a Jan. 7 traffic stop.
The five officers dismissed on Jan. 20 - all of them Black - were charged Thursday with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and oppression in the fatal beating of Nichols.
