MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the unit whose officers beat to death Tyre Nichols as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummeling the Black motorist.
Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said she listened to Nichols' relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.
Keep scrolling for a complete timeline of Tyre Nichols' arrest, death
“It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit,” she said in a statement. She said the officers currently assigned to the unit “agree unreservedly" with the step.
The footage released Friday left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop involving the Black motorist and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as he lay motionless on the pavement.
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The five disgraced former Memphis Police Department officers, who are also Black, have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols’ death three days after the arrest.
The recording shows police savagely beating Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx worker, for three minutes while screaming profanities at him in an assault that the Nichols family legal team has likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps.
The five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.
Davis has said other officers are under investigation, and Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said two deputies have been relieved of duty without pay while their conduct is investigated. Read the full story here:
Here is the timeline of events in the arrest and death of Tyre Nichols — and what's followed
Jan. 8
Jan 8: Memphis police say in a statement that officers attempted to stop a man for reckless driving on Jan. 7 and he was taken to a hospital in critical condition after two confrontations. The first description of what happened says one confrontation occurred when officers approached the vehicle and the suspect fled on foot. Officers pursued, and another confrontation occurred when they took him into custody, police said. The subject complained of shortness of breath and was taken to a hospital. Due to his condition, police contacted the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, which asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to conduct a use-of-force investigation.
Jan. 20
Jan. 20: The five officers involved in the arrest are fired after an internal investigation finds they used excessive force, failed to intervene and failed to render aid. They are identified as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith. All five are Black.
Associated Press reporters Aaron Morrison in New York, Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee, and Rebecca Reynolds in Lexington, Kentucky, contributed to this report.
