The Memphis Police Department, Tennessee, announced a series of reforms on Saturday due to the death of Tyron Nichols, who died in the hospital three days after five officers beat the young man, an attack that was published on video on Friday.
Among the measures, the local police will permanently dismantle the “Escorpion” unit, where some of the agents involved in the murder belonged.
The director of the Memphis police, Cerelyn “CJ” Davis, explained that she had a meeting with the members of the “Scorpion” unit, determining that the best option was to dismantle the unit, which also comes in response to family requests. Nichols, as well as community leaders.
In 2021, the “Escorpion” unit, made up of 40 agents, was created with the aim of reducing violence in the most vulnerable neighborhoods of the city.
Through a press conference, Antonio Romanucci, one of the Nichols family lawyers, called for the immediate elimination of the “Scorpion” unit after considering that it lost the support of citizens and that the African-American community can no longer trust it. their agents.
So far it is not known which of the five agents who beat Nichols belonged to the “Escorpion” unit, the EFE news agency reported.
Reports indicated that the five officers who beat the 29-year-old man are African-American, kicking him in the head and swearing at him as the victim yelled, “Mama, Mama!” and “I did nothing”.
After the fatal incident, the police officers were arrested, and various criminal charges were brought against him, including second degree murder.
It was reported that almost a third of all people killed by police in the United States have been African Americans, who represent 13% of the country’s population, according to the organization Mapping Police Violence.