Tyre Nichols: Memphis Scorpion street crime unit faces calls to disband trends now

Tyre Nichols: Memphis Scorpion street crime unit faces calls to disband trends now
Tyre Nichols: Memphis Scorpion street crime unit faces calls to disband trends now

Tyre Nichols: Memphis Scorpion street crime unit faces calls to disband trends now

The Memphis Police Department's elite SCORPION street crime unit is facing calls to disband, after several members were involved in the traffic stop that resulted in the beating and death of Tyre Nichols.

The unit was created to combat soaring violent crime, but critics say its aggressive tactics and lack of oversight are a recipe for tragedies like the fatal beating of Nichols, which was revealed in its full savagery in footage released on Friday. 

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nichols' family, said such units can turn into 'a pack of wolves' and called for an end to the SCORPION unit. 

'We believe that this was a pattern and practice, and Tyre is dead because that pattern and practice went unchecked by the people who were supposed to check that,' Crump said at a press conference.

Five officers have been charged with second-degree murder in Nichols' death, though it was unclear how many of them were part of the SCORPION unit, and MPD has not released that information.

An officer involved in the fatal traffic stop of Tyre Nichols is seen wearing a hoodie of the MPD's Organized Crime Unit, of which SCORPION is a part

An officer involved in the fatal traffic stop of Tyre Nichols is seen wearing a hoodie of the MPD's Organized Crime Unit, of which SCORPION is a part

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nichols' family, said street crime units such as SCORPION can turn into 'a pack of wolves' and called to disband the unit

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nichols' family, said street crime units such as SCORPION can turn into 'a pack of wolves' and called to disband the unit

The newly released footage of the initial traffic stop that led to Nichols' death shows cops in the unmarked Dodge Chargers favored by the unit, wearing hoodies with the logo of the Organized Crime Unit, of which SCORPION is a part.

Founded in October 2021 due to pressure over rising crime, SCORPION, stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods. Its mandate is to stem homicides, assaults and robberies. 

Memphis officials have said the unit comprises about 40 officers in four teams concentrating on crime hot spots. 

Each team has members focused on car theft, gang investigations and 'crime suppression,' Mayor Jim Strickland said in a speech in January 2022.

A 2021 video about the unit's launch showed several dozen officers, mostly men, going through roll call before heading on patrols. Some wore plain clothes and drove unmarked cars.

In its first few months of existence, between October 2021 and January 23, 2022, SCORPION made 566 arrests. 

Cops are seen next to the type of unmarked Dodge Charger favored by SCORPION teams, following the January 7 beating of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop

Cops are seen next to the type of unmarked Dodge Charger favored by SCORPION teams, following the January 7 beating of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop

Founded in October 2021 due to pressure over rising crime, SCORPION, stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods

Founded in October 2021 due to pressure over rising crime, SCORPION, stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods

Of those, 390 were felony arrests, according to Strickland. Officers seized tens of thousands of dollars and over 250 weapons, the mayor said.

However, there have been prior complaints over SCORPION's alleged heavy-handed tactics.

Cornell McKinney told WREG-TV the same SCORPION team involved in Nichols' death stopped him on January 3, four days before the fatal Nichols beating.

'All I heard is a 'Freeze, get out the car. Put your MF hands up

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