This was one of the measures sought after the death of Tyra Nichols: Memphis police disbanded the Scorpion unit on Saturday, January 28, which included the five police officers responsible for the death of the African-American. Long beats in early January.
Police in this major city of Tennessee in the southern United States said in a statement that“It is in everyone’s best interest to permanently destroy the Scorpion unit”,
“The police officers currently assigned to the unit have given their full consent”Statement added.
The announcement comes a day after video was publicly released showing the violent arrest of Tyra Nichols during a traffic check on January 7th. The youth died three days after being admitted to the hospital. Images of police intervention have sparked horror and incomprehension in the United States, without causing a social explosion similar to the summer of 2020 authorities feared after the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a white police officer.
The decision taken by the family of Tyr Nichols
The family of Tyra Nichols welcomed the Memphis police’s decision through a statement from their attorneys, explaining it “Both appropriate and proportionate to the tragic death of Tyr Nichols “, but “civilized and just to all citizens of Memphis”.
“We hope other cities will take similar steps with their police units. [des quartiers difficiles] to start generating more trust in our communities in the near future”Added family.
Rallies ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred people were held Friday night in several cities, including Memphis, New York and Washington. On Saturday afternoon, several dozen protesters gathered in the rain and cold in front of Memphis’s Town Hall, an imposing building of concrete blocks.
“Memphis has an opportunity to set the pattern for responding to such acts”, City Councilor JB Smiley shouted to the crowd demanding police reform. to the voices of “No Justice, No Peace” and ask with placards “Justice for Tyra Nichols”The protesters then marched through the otherwise quiet streets of Memphis.
Nearly 1,200 killed in 2022 during interactions with US police
Memphis Police Chief Cerelin Davis, who launched the unit in November 2021 with the goal of reducing illegal activity by deploying more officers to sensitive areas, noted that Scorpion has achieved early success, particularly with a record 345 murders in 2022. Decline in crime after. the year that was the spark “a scream”according to him.
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Scorpion, which stands for Street Crime Operations to Restore Peace to Our Neighborhoods, Was Intended “Reduce Armed Violence, Be Visible in Communities, and Impact Crime Growth”he said on CNN.
According to the site, the death toll during interactions with police is set to peak with 1,186 deaths in 2022, the most in ten years, two years after the death of African-American George Floyd. Mapping Police Violence,
The five police officers involved in the death of Tyra Nichols were fired, charged with murder, and imprisoned. Four of these were later released on bail.