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.
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."
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocratFeature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlockFeature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
