The Memphis Police Department (MPD) announced on January 28, 2023 that it had disbanded the specialized unit, known as the Scorpion unit, after five of its officers were charged with second-degree murder in the death of a 29-year-old Black man, Tyre Nichols.
Two days later, two more officers were taken off duty by the MPD.
“The intent was good,” Anthony Romanucci, lawyer representing the Mr. Nichols’ family, said. “The end result was a failure.” One of the family’s principle demands was to shut down the Scorpion unit.
The MPD stated in a statement that it was in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit. The five offices have been fired.
The decision was reached after listening to the family of Mr. Nichols, community leaders, and other officers at the unit who have done quality work in their assignments.
However, Memphis police chief Cerelyn Davis didn’t admit her responsibility as a supervisor.
Who were Scorpions?
The Scorpion unit, which stands for the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods unit, deployed officers to patrol higher-crime areas of the city.
The group consisted of about 40 officers who drove unmarked vehicles, making traffic stops, hundreds of arrests, and seizing weapons.
It had been central to efforts to combat persistent violence and crime at a time when the city’s murder rate had been climbing, stoking fears about public safety. One year ago, Mayor Jim Strickland touted it in his State of the City address.
The unit was launched in 2021 by Cerelyn Davis just months after she took over the department as the first female police chief in Memphis’ history.
It is worth noting that, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, she was fired from the Atlanta police department in 2008 for her alleged involvement in a sex crimes investigation into the husband of an Atlanta police sergeant.
Scorpion unit members dress in black hoodies and tactical vests featuring the word “POLICE” on the front and back, and drive dark Dodge Chargers bearing a SCORPION emblem.
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Previous record of Scorpion unit
Although the MPD is trying to portray the January 7th incident as a rare event, there has been persistent accusation against the Scorpion unit of using excessive force against others. It was regarded by many in the community as an oppressive force.
Lawyer Ben Crump, an attorney for Mr. Nichols’ family, said to The New York Times that this was a pattern and practice, and that Tyre’s death was a result of it going unchecked by those responsible for monitoring it. Highlighting the Scorpion unit’s history of using excessive force he mentioned that a man had reported an encounter with the unit, in which he was threatened with an officer’s gun, just a few days prior to Mr. Nichols’ death. Another man, aged 66, also reported being brutalized by the unit and had photographic evidence of his injuries, he added.
Anthony Romanucchi has rightly pointed out that units that saturate neighborhoods under the guise of crime-fighting end up oppressing young people and people of color, often operating with impunity.
Critical background
Mr. Nichols was stopped on the evening of January 7, 2023 as he was headed to his home. The video footage released on January 27th that captured Mr. Nichols’s interactions with officers showed him being pulled out of his car, and he can be heard saying, “I’m just trying to go home.”
Mr. Nichols fled on foot, and when officers caught up to him, he was kicked, struck by a baton and pepper-sprayed, at one point screaming, “Mom! Mom! Mom!” He was hospitalized in critical condition and died three days later.
An independent autopsy commissioned by his family found that Mr. Nichols “suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” according to preliminary findings.
The decision to disband the Scorpion unit is a good one as it shows that the MPD is taking the community’s concerns seriously and is willing to make changes to improve relations with the public. It is a step towards healing and rebuilding trust between the police and the community.
