The Memphis Police (Tennessee, USA) announced reforms this Saturday in response to the death of the young African-American tyron nichols, who died in hospital three days after being beaten on video by several officers. Specifically, the local Police will permanently dismantle the Unit Scorpion to which the agents belonged.
In a statement, the director of the Memphis Police Department, the African-American Cerelyn Davisexplained that he had a meeting with the members of the unit Scorpion and it was determined that it was best dismantled in response to requests from the Nichols family and community leaders.
Unit Scorpionmade up of forty agents, was created by the Memphis Police in 2021 with the objective of reduce violence in neighborhoods from the city. On Friday during a press conference, Antonio Romanucci, one of the lawyers for the Nichols family, called for the immediate removal of the unit. Scorpion considering that had lost the support of the citizens and that the African American community could no longer trust their agents.
It is not known exactly how many of the five officers who beat Nichols were from that unit. All of them were African-American, were taken into custody and face various criminal charges, including second-degree murder.
Videos released Friday by Memphis authorities show officers beating 29-year-old Nichols, kicking him in the head and swearing at him as the victim yelled, “Mom, Mom” and “give me a minute.” Nichols died three days later at the hospital.
The US Police has been singled out by human rights organizations for using the violence disproportionately towards the black population in the country. Nearly a third of all people killed by police in the United States in 2021 were African-Americans, despite being only 13% of the country’s population, according to the organization Mapping Police Violence.
The policemen, before a judge
The five police officers accused of killing the black youth will appear before a judge for the first time on February 17, court records show. The purpose of the court hearing will be determine if officers can be released on bail Or they must remain detained.
The officers who beat Nichols, all black, have been arrested and each faces seven criminal charges, including second-degree murder that carries between 15 and 60 years in prison.
The agents, who were expelled from the police force on January 18, arrested Nichols allegedly for a traffic violation last January 7th.
