Following fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, Memphis police disband SCORPION Unit
The Memphis Police Department announced Saturday that it would disband the anti-gang SCORPION unit to which the officers involved in the deadly beating of Tyre Nichols belonged.
Short for "Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods," the SCORPION Unit has been heavily criticized following a traffic stop in which five of the unit's officers severely beat 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. Nichols would die from his injuries three days after the beating. Nichols was Black, as were the officers who attacked him.
Body cam footage showed Nichols being pummeled numerous times with the officer's batons, fists, and boots, even as he pleaded for them to stop. The officers were fired by the police department and have since been charged with murder.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION Unit," Memphis Police officials said in a statement. "The officers currently assigned to the unit agree undeservedly with this next step. While the heinous actions of a few cast 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."
Following the announcement, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, civil rights attorneys representing the Nichols family, released a statement of their own lauding the decision. "The Nichols family and their legal team find the decision to permanently disband this unit to be both appropriate and proportional to the tragic death of Tyre Nichols, and also a decent and just decision for all citizens of Memphis," the attorneys said.
Others said the move didn't go far enough. "The community has a lot more questions and a lot more demands," Memphis city council member Patrice Robinson told CNN. "We really need to investigate and find out what's going on."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other Hollywood news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
Band Aid 40: time to change the tune?
In the Spotlight Band Aid's massively popular 1984 hit raised around £8m for famine relief in Ethiopia and the charity has generated over £140m in total
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Starmer vs the farmers: who will win?
Today's Big Question As farmers and rural groups descend on Westminster to protest at tax changes, parallels have been drawn with the miners' strike 40 years ago
By The Week UK Published
-
How secure are royal palaces?
The Explainer Royal family's safety is back in the spotlight after the latest security breach at Windsor
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
DOJ demands changes at 'abhorrent' Atlanta jail
Speed Read Georgia's Fulton County Jail subjects inmates to 'unconstitutional' conditions, the 16-month investigation found
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
China tries to bury deadly car attack
Speed Read An SUV drove into a crowd of people in Zhuhai, killing and injuring dozens — but news of the attack has been censored
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor plan
Speed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
A Mexican cartel is trapping unsuspecting tourists in a timeshare scam
Under the Radar Thousands of people have reportedly fallen victim to the scams over the last few years
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published