Memphis police this Saturday (28) disabled the unit of five agents who beat a young black American who died days later from his injuries in the latest case of police violence that has caused horror and misunderstandings across the United States. .
The death of 29yearold Tire Nichols has reignited a harrowing debate about police brutality across the country, especially as promises of reform were circulated across the country following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
The five agents, also African American, belonged to the Scorpion unit in Memphis, which was activated in November 2021 with the intention of reducing illegal activities in conflict zones by, among other things, covering those areas with more agents.
But on Saturday, the Memphis Police Department said in a statement that it was “in everyone’s best interest to permanently disable the SCORPION unit.”
The Nichols family celebrated the decision in a statement from their attorneys, calling it “appropriate and proportionate to the tragic death of Tire Nichols and also a decent and fair decision for all citizens of Memphis.”
Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, the unit’s creator, had previously told CNN that she was successful, at least initially, with crime falling in 2022 after registering a record 345 homicides the previous year, a number she said was provocative “Community Protest”.
The unit, whose acronym stands for Street Crime Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, aimed to “reduce armed violence, be visible in communities and also have an impact on crime growth,” he said.
Despite national calls for police reform following Floyd’s death, the number of people killed in police interactions in 2022 reached 1,186 deaths, its highest level in 10 years, according to website Mapping Police Violence.
The agents involved in Nichols’ death are charged with first degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping.
Even after the video showing the beating was released Friday night, some key questions remained unanswered, particularly what led to Nichols’ arrest.