MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Shelby County Grand Jury is set to take up the case against a Memphis firefighter, charged after police said he and a friend got into a fight at a downtown restaurant that ended in the friend’s death.
Cameron Land is charged with criminally negligent homicide. His bond was originally set at $350,000, but it was lowered to $5,000 during a court hearing on March 19 and he was released after paying the bond.
During a court hearing on May 1, the case against Land was sent to the grand jury, according to court records.
The Memphis Fire Department previously said Land was relieved of duty pending both the police investigation and an internal investigation.
According to the police affidavit, on Saturday, March 16, 2024, Land and his friend Taylor Hite were at Little Italy restaurant along G.E. Patterson when the two got into a fight. Investigators said the pair were escorted out of the restaurant, where the fight continued on the sidewalk.
The affidavit said surveillance video showed witnesses trying to stop the fight. They said it shows Land and Hite walk toward each other, and Land punch Hite three times in the head, knocking Hite to the ground, where he hit his head on the sidewalk.
Paramedics responded and found Hite unconscious, and he was taken to Regional One Hospital where he died, according to the affidavit.
