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As the city of Memphis and the rest of the nation continue reeling from the death of Tyre Nichols, the specialized Memphis Police Department unit that was involved in the 29-year-old’s arrest has come under increased scrutiny.
The five police officers who have been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other crimes over Nichols’s death were all part of the specialized Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, or Scorpion, unit.
Nichols, a Black man, was pulled over by members of the unit on Jan. 7 and pepper-sprayed, tased and beaten during the traffic stop, according to footage of the incident released on Friday night. He died three days later as a result of his injuries.What is the Scorpion unit and why was it created?
The Scorpion unit was launched in November 2021 with a focus on “violent crime reduction and the saturation of hot spot areas throughout the city,” according to a department announcement from the time.
