Fatal beating in Memphis forced to dissolve police department
2023.01.29 05:37
Fatal beating in Memphis forced to dissolve police department
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – On Saturday, a day after harrowing video of the attack was released, the specialized police unit that included the five Memphis officers who were charged with Tyre Nichols’s death was disbanded.
After meeting with members of Nichols’ family, community leaders, and other officers, the police chief issued a statement announcing the permanent deactivation of the SCORPION unit. A spokesperson for the police said that the unit included all five officers.
Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was seen repeatedly yelling “Mom!” on video from police body-worn cameras and a utility pole camera. after a traffic stop on Jan. 7 in the neighborhood of his mother, officers beat him with a baton, kicked him, and punched him. He went to the hospital and died three days later from his injuries.
On Thursday, five Black officers who were involved in the beating were charged with murder, assault, kidnapping, and other offenses. Everyone has been let go from the department.
Officials and Nichols’ family expressed grief and outrage, but they urged protesters to remain calm. On Friday, when scattered protests broke out in Memphis, where marchers briefly blocked an interstate highway, and elsewhere, that request was largely met.
On Saturday, nonviolent demonstrations were held once more in cities across the United States. Protesters chanting, “Whose streets? ” in Memphis Our avenues!” angry catcalls were made to a police car that was watching the march, and several people made rude gestures. When they heard that SCORPION had been disbanded, some of them let out a loud cheer.
Before marching through Manhattan, hundreds of protesters gathered in New York’s Washington Square Park, where columns of police walked alongside them.
The four videos released on Friday showed police beating Nichols despite the fact that he appeared to not be a threat. Although the police chief stated that the reason for the initial traffic stop was not supported, it was for reckless driving.
In October 2021, the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods (SCORPION) unit was established to concentrate on high-crime areas. Specialized teams, according to critics, can be vulnerable to abusive strategies.
Nichols was, according to family and friends, a charming and talented skateboarder who moved to Memphis prior to the coronavirus pandemic after growing up in Sacramento, California. Nichols, the father of a child who is now four years old, worked at FedEx (NYSE:) and had just signed up for a photography class.
A group of friends, including Nichols, met at a Starbucks (NASDAQ:) with Nate Spates Jr., 42. in the region.
When Nichols wasn’t working a late shift, he would go to Shelby Farms Park to watch the sunset. “He liked what he liked, and he marched to the beat of his own drum,” Spates said.
The death of Nichols is the most recent high-profile instance of excessive police force against Black people and other minority groups. Worldwide protests against racial injustice were sparked by the death in 2020 of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.
