Police chief scuttles so-called SCORPION unit in response to 'heinous actions.'
As sporadic crowds continued Saturday to protest the death of Tennessee motorist Tyre Nichols at the hands of law enforcement, the Memphis police chief said she would eliminate the specialized unit implicated in the beating.
The remaining officers of the Scorpion unit — which stands for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods — “agree unreservedly with this next step,” the release said. “While the heinous actions of a few casts a cloud of dishonor on the title SCORPION, it is imperative that we, the Memphis Police Department take proactive steps in the healing process for all impacted.”
The five officers recorded on the tape face charges that could bring them 60 years in prison if convicted. Like Nichols, all five officers are Black. Grabbing the bullhorn, JB Smiley Jr., vice chair of the Memphis City Council, urged protesters to attend the council’s next meeting on Feb. 7.Smiley said he had already proposed an ordinance pushing for greater transparency surrounding police use of force and body cameras.
Marching through Memphis, protesters alternately chanted Nichols’ name and sang “We Ready,” a 2002 anthem by the late Atlanta rapper Archie Eversole that has become a mainstay at protests nationwide. Ryan Jackson, 25, said he was sickened by an image of one of the officers lighting a cigarette after the beating. He did not know Nichols, but said he felt a connection as a fellow Black man and skateboarder. He said he was sometimes leery when he saw police at his local skate park.
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