Apart from Memphis, protesters have also taken to the streets in other US cities.
Memphis, United States:
The special police unit involving five Memphis officers charged with the fatal beating of Tyra Nichols was disbanded on Saturday as more protests rocked US cities, a day after video of the attack was released.
The police department said in a statement that it was permanently deactivating the SCORPION unit after the police chief spoke with Nichols’ family members, community leaders and other officials. A police spokesman confirmed that all five officers were members of the unit.
Video recordings from police body-worn cameras and a camera mounted on a utility pole showed Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, repeatedly shouting “Mom!” Shown shouting. On January 7, officers kicked, punched and batoned him in his mother’s neighborhood after a traffic stop. He was admitted to the hospital and died of his injuries three days later.
The five officers involved in the beating, all black, were charged Thursday with murder, assault, kidnapping and other charges. All have been dismissed from the department.
Nichols’ family and officials expressed outrage and sadness but urged protesters to remain peaceful. That request received massive attention on Friday when scattered protests erupted in Memphis – where marchers briefly blocked an interstate highway – and elsewhere.
Cities across the United States saw renewed nonviolent demonstrations on Saturday. In Memphis, protesters chanted, “Whose streets? Our streets!” An angry mob seized a police vehicle monitoring the march, with many making obscene gestures. Some cheered loudly when they heard of Scorpion’s disbandment.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in New York’s Washington Square Park before marching through Manhattan as columns of police officers walked alongside them.
In total, four video clips released Friday showed police beating Nichols even though he did not appear to be a threat. The initial traffic stop was for reckless driving, although the police chief has said the reason for the stop has not been confirmed.
The SCORPION UNIT, short for Street Crime Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, was formed in October 2021 to focus on crime hot spots. Critics say that such elite teams can fall prey to offensive tactics.
Friends and family say Nichols was a friendly, talented skateboarder who grew up in Sacramento, California, and moved to Memphis before the coronavirus pandemic. Father of a 4-year-old, Nichols worked at FedEx and recently enrolled in a photography class.
Nate Spates Jr., 42, was part of a circle of friends including Nichols who met at an area Starbucks.
“He liked what he liked, and he marched to the beat of his own drum,” Spates said, recalling that Nichols used to go to a park called Shelby Farms to watch the sunset when he was late. Not working in shift.
Nichols’ death is the latest high-profile example of police using excessive force against black people and other minorities. The 2020 killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes, sparked protests against racial injustice around the world.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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