TAKEN DOWN

THE Memphis police chief disbanded the city’s so-called Scorpion unit on Saturday, citing a “cloud of dishonour” after a video showed officers beating Tyre Nichols to death.

Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis acted a day after the harrowing video emerged, saying she listened to Nichols’ relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.

Her announcement came as the US and the city struggled to come to grips with the violence of the officers, who are also black.

Protesters marching through downtown Memphis cheered when they heard the unit had been dissolved.

Referring to “the heinous actions of a few” that dishonoured the unit, Ms Davis said it was imperative that the department “take proactive steps in the healing process”.

“It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit,” she said in a statement.

The Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace In Our Neighbourhoods (Scorpion) unit is composed of three teams of about 30 officers whose stated aim is to target violent offenders in areas beset by high crime. It had been inactive since Mr Nichols’ January 7 arrest.

Act

officers’ conduct. Cities nationwide had braced for demonstrations after the video emerged, but protests were scattered and nonviolent.

Several dozen demonstrators in Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River toward Arkansas. Protesters also blocked traffic in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.

One officer can be heard on video saying that Mr Nichols would not stop and then swerved as though he intended to hit the officer’s car. The officer says that when Mr Nichols pulled up to a red light, the officers jumped out.

But Ms Davis said the department cannot substantiate the reasoning.