Protesters React to Disbandment of Memphis Police's SCORPION Unit
Protesters gathered in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday, January 28, reacted to Memphis Police’s announcement that a special unit had been disbanded, after footage released on Friday showed five of its officers fatally beating Tyre Nichols.
In Saturday’s statement, Memphis Police described Nichols’s death as “tragic” and said they had listened “intently” to Nichols’s family, community leaders and other officers in the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods (SCORPION) unit, and decided it was “in the best interests of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION unit.”
“The officers currently assigned to the unit agree unreservedly with this next step,” the police said.
Footage by Brendan Gutenschwager shows protesters welcoming the decision as “a start”.
“Everything under the [Organized Crime Unit], we want it abolished,” one protester tell a crowd outside the Memphis Police Department (MPD) building. “The SCORPION unit, that’s cool. That’s a start. They’re letting us know we’re doing something right.”
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) reported that 29-year-old Nichols died in the hospital on January 10 after a physical altercation with police on January 7. The five officers who “caused Nichols’ injuries” were charged with second-degree murder on Thursday. Credit: Brendan Gutenschwager via Storyful
Video Transcript
- Say his name.
- Tyre Nichols.
- Say his name.
- Tyre Nichols.
- Say his name.
- Tyre Nichols.
- Say his name.
- Tyre Nichols.
- Say his name.
- Tyre Nichols.
- Say his name.
- Tyre Nichols.
- Say his name.
- Tyre Nichols.
- Say his name.
- Tyre Nichols.
[CHATTER]
- This is.
- Our street.
- This is.
- Our street.
- This is.
- Our street.
- This is.
- Our street.
- Hey, everybody, it's a tough day for us all. But let me give credit where credit is due. We've got CJ Davis, has done that job. [? Maura ?] has done his job.
- He ain't done enough.
- OK, that's fine, we-- it's a work in progress. But everybody hold us accountable.
- Absolutely.
- It's our job that.
- Yeah.
- I want y'all to call us. I want you all to bug the hell out of us, show up at council meeting every time that you can until we get these ordinances passed to address this issue. That's all I've got to say, hold us accountable.
- We will.
- Pull up.
[CHATTER]
[CHANTING]
[CHATTER]
- Are you going to hold your word and what you're saying right here today?
- I've always been.
- OK.
- That's true.
- Always been.
[CHATTER]
- And it's on-- it's on record.
- Yep.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
- And then, I'll call-- I'll call him right after [INAUDIBLE]
[CHATTER]
- Yeah, look. That he knows.
- Pull up.
- Pull up. I'm going to pull up.
[CHANTING]
- Today, Memphis police officers assigned to the SCORPION Unit, which stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, they weren't restoring [MUTE].
- Whoa!
- There was no peace being restored
- They are not. They're doing worse.
- Met with Chiefs [? Darryl ?] and CJ Davis to discuss the path forward for the department and the community in the aftermath of this tragic death of Tyre Nichols. And 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.
[CHEERING]
- That sounds like a win to me.
- Whoa!
- Let's keep it going.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
[CHATTER]
- Wait, I see-- I heard what she just read.
[CHATTER]
I heard what she just read.
[CHATTER]
We want the whole house or unit to abolish.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- OSU, all of it.
- Everything up under their umbrella, OCU, or the Organized Crime Unit, and we want it abolished. The SCORPION Unit, that's cool. That's a start. They're letting us know we're doing something right. We've got to abolish the whole process from the top to the bottom.
- That's right.
- And it's just that simple. Like now, it ain't no win. We ain't going to give up. There ain't no win in my eyesight. That's [INAUDIBLE] them saying that we've done something right. We've done something right. That's what we did. We're going to keep on doing it. And just like we are here now, we need to be at the city council meeting the same way.
[CHATTER]
There's powers in numbers.
- Yeah, pull up.
- Just like you show up now to march, show up to sit down and decide to be a voice for Tyre.
- Yeah.
- That's how we win. They pay attention to that. Trust me, I've been doing it for too long. We're standing up, being about Tyree, man. And we're going to keep on doing it.
- And what's his name?
- Tyre Nichols.
- What's his goddamn name?
- Tyre Nichols.
- [INAUDIBLE] and loud.
- Tyre Nichols.
- What's his name?
- Tyre Nichols.
- The last goddamn name.
- Tyre Nichols.
- What's his name?
- Tyre Nichols.
- No justice.
- No peace.
- No justice.
- No peace.
- No justice.
- No peace.
