Memphis police announced on Saturday the dismantling of the special unit involved in the fatal beating in early January of a young African-American, whose video shocked the United States.
On Saturday, police in Memphis, Tennessee (southern United States), said in a statement that “it is in everyone’s interest to permanently dismantle the SCORPION unit”.
“The police officers currently assigned to the unit have given their consent,” the statement added.
The family of Tyre Nichols welcomed this decision via a statement from his lawyers, deeming it “both appropriate and proportionate to the tragic death of Tyre Nichols” but also “decent and fair for all the citizens of Memphis”.
” No justice, no peace “
The shocking images of the fatal arrest of Tire Nichols, 29, by five black police officers have aroused horror and incomprehension in the United States, without yet causing the social explosion similar to that of summer 2020 feared by the authorities. .
On Saturday afternoon, several dozen protesters gathered in the rain and cold outside Memphis City Hall, a towering concrete block building.
“Memphis has the opportunity to set the pattern for responding to such acts,” City Council member JB Smiley told the crowd, calling for police reform.
To the sounds of “no justice, no peace” and with signs demanding “justice for Tire Nichols,” protesters then marched through the otherwise quiet streets of Memphis.
