• Scorpion stands for “Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods”.
• Tyre Nichols, 29, was seen being beaten to death by the Memphis Police Department’s officers.
• The unit is a 50-person group tasked with reducing crime rates in specific locations.

The so-called Scorpion special squad of the Memphis Police Department has been disbanded because one of its members is suspected of killing Tyre Nichols.

Scorpion stands for “Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods”.

The unit is a 50-person group tasked with reducing crime rates in specific locations.

However, it has now been abolished when Mr. Nichols, 29, was seen being beaten by its officers in footage from 7 January.

In a statement, the department said “it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate” the unit.

“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,” it added.

Mr. Nichols’ family welcomed the decision in a statement from their lawyers, calling it “both appropriate and proportional to the tragic death of Tyre Nichols, and also a decent and just decision for all citizens of Memphis”.

With an emphasis on high-impact crimes such car thefts and gang-related offences, the unit was established in October 2021.

The five cops, Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Tadarrius Bean, and Emmitt Martin III, were discharged last week.

Each of them is accused of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression. They were both arrested on Thursday.

According to jail records, four of the five secured bond and were freed from custody by Friday morning.

Martin and Mills’ attorneys have declared that their clients will enter a not-guilty plea.

Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr said two deputy sheriffs who “appeared on the scene following” the confrontation have also been suspending pending an internal investigation.

“The unit that murdered Tyre has been permanently disbanded,” a protester shouted into a megaphone in Memphis and the crowd erupted into cheers.

Less than 100 protesters had assembled in the square in front of the Memphis Police headquarters despite the rain to call for change to a policing system that they claimed routinely brutalists black people in Memphis and around the nation.

“Memphis is taking a stand,” said Casio Montez, one of the protest organizers. “This means we’re doing something right.”

Mr. Montez vowed that he and other community organizers would continue to pressure Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis and city officials until “the community’s demands are met”, including reforming the department’s organized crime unit.

Also Read

Tyre Nichols: After death, a police squad is dismantled

The Memphis Police Department has disbanded the Scorpion special unit. Officers are...