<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">The Memphis Police Department has disbanded the so-called Scorpion special unit, whose officers are accused of murdering Tyre Nichols.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Scorpion stands for "Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The unit is a 50-person unit with the mission of bringing down crime levels in particular areas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But now it is being abolished after its officers were seen beating Mr Nichols, 29, in the videos from 7 January.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a statement, the department said "it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate" the unit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"While the heinous actions of a few casts a cloud of dishonour on the title Scorpion, it is imperative that we, the Memphis Police Department, take proactive steps in the healing process for all impacted," it added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Nichols' family welcomed the decision in a statement from their lawyers, calling it "both appropriate and proportional to the tragic death of Tyre Nichols, and also a decent and just decision for all citizens of Memphis".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The unit was launched in October 2021 with a focus on high-impact crimes, such as car thefts and gang-related offences.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The five officers - Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith - were fired last week.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They were taken into custody on Thursday and each faces charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Four of the five posted bail and were released from custody by Friday morning, according to jail records.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lawyers for Mr Martin and Mr Mills have said their clients will plead not guilty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The unit that murdered Tyre has been permanently disbanded," a protester shouted into a megaphone in Memphis and the crowd erupted into cheers. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the rain, the group of fewer than 100 protesters had gathered in the square in front of the Memphis Police headquarters to demand change to a system of policing that they said makes a habit of brutalising black people in Memphis and across the country.  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Memphis is taking a stand," said Casio Montez, one of the protest organisers. "This means we're doing something right."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Montez vowed that he and other community organisers would continue to pressure Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis and city officials until "the community's demands are met", including reforming the department's organised crime unit.  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In an interview with BBC News on Friday, Chief Davis said the Scorpion unit was created to be "more responsive" and "more proactive" to gun violence in the city. But she acknowledged that the officers who brutally beat Tyre Nichols "decided to go off the rails".  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We are doing an individual evaluation of all units," she said. "This is a necessary step. We want to be fully transparent to the community."  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But for some, the problem of police violence is more deeply rooted than any reform can address.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the rally Saturday, Memphis native Allie Watkins held a sign that proclaimed, "All cops uphold white supremacy."  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sign is historically accurate, she said, because the history of policing in America began with slave patrols.  </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"This is not an issue of corruption in the United States, this is an issue of the fact that the system has been built against black bodies," she said.  If the system is broken, she added, the only way to fix it is to start again. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>