Police in Memphis, Tennessee, announced several reforms in response to the death of young African-American Tyron Nichols, who died in the hospital three days after being beaten by several officers in a beating recently broadcast on video.
One of these measures is the permanent dismantling of the so-called "Scorpion" unit of the local police, to which the five officers who beat Nichols, all black like the deceased, belonged.
"In the process of listening intently to the family of Tyre Nichols, community leaders and the uninvolved officers who have done quality work in their assignments, it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION unit," the Memphis Police Department released in an official statement.
— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) January 28, 2023
SCORPION stands forStreet Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods. A police unit that will finally be deactivated following a meeting between Police Chief Cerelyn 'C.J.' Davis and the squads agents, this comes despite Davis' own assertion at the time (after Nichols death), that she would keep this unit operational.
Radicals take advantage of Nichols' death to set streets on fire
Nichols' death, which arose as a result of his arrest following a traffic violation, has sparked a new wave of protests against police violence. Many groups also took advantage of the race of the deceased to set fire to the streets in several states with the excuse of a fight against racism, completely ignoring the fact that the five officers prosecuted for the beating of Nichols are also black.
Even President Joe Biden added to this agitation by insinuating in an official statement that racism was behind this incidence of police aggression: "We also cannot ignore the fact that fatal encounters with law enforcement have disparately impacted Black and Brown people," Biden said.
The protests over Nichols' death were in addition to other violent acts that occurred especially in Atlanta. Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency last week amid fears of a repeat of attacks on police by radical leftist groups in revenge for the death of an activist shot and killed by police after firing on officers during a protest.
