Memphis police dismantle ‘Scorpion’ unit involved in Dyer Nichols death arrest

Memphis police announced Saturday that they are disbanding the special unit involved The beating led to the death of a young African-American in early January. This video has shocked America.

On Saturday, Memphis, Tennessee (South America) police said in a statement, “It is in everyone’s interest to eliminate the Scorpion unit permanently“. “Police officers currently posted in the department have agreed“, adds the press release. Dyer Nichols’ family welcomed the decision in a statement from his lawyers.Dyer is fitting and proportionate to Nicholas’ tragic death“But more”Moral and fair to all citizens of Memphis“.

Kicks, punches and canes

The shocking images of Dyer Nichols, 29, being arrested by five black police officers have sparked horror and incomprehension, without yet causing a social explosion similar to the one that occurred in the summer of 2020 in the United States. Video released by police after a routine traffic stop in Memphis on Jan. 7 shows the unsustainable beating. Police beat the young man with their fists, feet and batons, fired tear gas and aimed Taser stun guns. We won’t be seeing Dyer Nicholls retaliate anytime soon. He tries to run and is caught. “mother mother Mom!“, he shouts in one extract. Dyer Nichols died three days later in a Memphis hospital.

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Rallies ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred people were held Friday night in several cities, including Memphis, New York and Washington. On Saturday afternoon, several dozen protesters gathered in the rain and cold outside Memphis City Hall, a towering concrete block building. to the sounds ofNo justice, no peaceand with question marks “Justice for Dyer NicholasProtesters then marched through the quiet streets of Memphis.

Five police officers were fired, charged with murder and jailed. 4 of them were later released on bail. On Friday, while they say they are horrified, the family declared themselves “SatisfiedFive police officers were charged and commendedSpeedActions taken against them.

“Institutionalized Police Culture”

“It could have been meDemarcus Carter, a 36-year-old African-American resident of Memphis, responded after seeing the video that he expected the protests to be large, instead of Dyer Nichols. But once the trial is over, “If the judgment is wrong, the protests will become bigger“, he predicted. Even after the release of the arrest footage, some questions remain unanswered. For example, the video does not show the beginning of the interaction between Dyer Nichols and the group.

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This new death after the arrest has reignited the debate about police violence in the country, where the memory of George Floyd, who was killed by a white police officer in 2020, is vivid, with the feeling that none of the large demonstrations that followed solved the problem. .

Ben Crump, one of the attorneys for Dyer Nichols’ family and a supporter of George Floyd’s family, charged.Institutionalized police culture“. “It doesn’t matter if the policeman is black, hispanic, white (…). There are unwritten rules that say if a person belongs to a certain race, they can be treated with excessive force.“, he said on the MSNBC channel on Saturday.