Scorpion: The police task force set up to tackle high murder rates, now involved in the killing of an unarmed man
When Memphis, a city in southwest Tennessee, had a record number of homicides in 2021 for the second year in a row, many were calling for action.
Attention turned to the Memphis Police Department to tackle the murder rate, which led to the creation of the Scorpion Unit in October 2021.
“MPD’s New SCORPION UNIT Launched!” read a post on the department’s Facebook page, along with a video clip showing a group of officers in tactical vests at a roll call.
The name stands for the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods – yet officers from that same unit were responsible for the brutal assault of Tyre Nichols this month during a traffic stop for alleged reckless driving.
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Memphis authorities have released video footage of Tyre Nichols being held down by officers and struck repeatedly as he screamed for his mother.
“The Scorpion unit was involved,” Steve Mulroy, the District Attorney for Shelby County, Tennessee, confirmed on Thursday when he announced the murder charges against five officers.
Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, who has called the attack “heinous, reckless and inhumane”, has announced a review of all of the police department’s specialised units, including Scorpion, in response to Mr Nichols’ death.
A unit designed for ‘crime suppression’
The Scorpion unit was created in October 2021 under the police department’s Organised Crime Unit after a record 346 homicides were reported in 2021 – up from 332 the previous year.
Made up of 40 officers divided into four 10-member teams, the unit was tasked with addressing violent crime and investigating car thefts and gangs.
In January last year, Mayor Jim Strickland promoted the unit as part of the solution to the high homicide rate, stating that in its first three months, it had made hundreds of arrests and seized hundreds of cars and weapons.
Pic: City of Memphis via AP
Its operations were flaunted on the police department’s Facebook page: arrests that began with traffic stops, escalated into more serious confrontations and ended with arrests of people for drugs and guns.
‘Police do what they can to arrest people’
Mark LeSure, a former Memphis police sergeant who retired in 2021, said he had begun to see a large number of relatively inexperienced officers being put on specialised units as other members of the force quit.
Mr LeSure added that the units did not have enough senior staff members training the new officers.
“Rookies were getting put on specialised units where they had no business being,” he said.
Two of the five officers involved in the assault on Mr Nicols, who are aged between 24 and 32-years-old, had been on the job for a couple of years, and the others no more than six years.
Officers Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmitt Martin III, Tadarrius Bean and Desmond Mills Jr have been sacked and charged. Pic: Shelby County Sheriff’s Office
Mr LeSure said some of his former colleagues who are still at the department have told him that the Scorpion unit, which launched after he retired, is known for having a “zero tolerance” policy on crime – which he said meant the officers “do what they can to arrest people”.
Police initially said Mr Nichols had been stopped for reckless driving on 7 January and that a “confrontation” occurred in an effort to detain him.
However, Ms Davis said a review of the incident could not “substantiate” the reckless driving claim.
He died three days after the assault.
Tyre Nichols’ brutal beating by police is shown on video
‘Unit is an excuse to harass everyday residents’
E. Winslow Chapman, the director of the police department from 1976 to 1983, said that when he was leading the force officers were not considered for specialised units without at least seven years on the job.
Mr Chapman said: “You’re using officers to send a message that we’re here and we’re not going to tolerate criminal activity anymore … and it can very easily go overboard, which it obviously did in this case.”
Chelsea Glass, a community organiser in Memphis who is an advocate for criminal justice reform, called Scorpion a street crime-fighting team relying on traffic stops as excuses to find violent criminals and weapons.
“They harass everyday residents, and they’re calling this high-level policing,” he said.
“But it’s really just stop-and-frisk on wheels. It doesn’t matter what name you slap on it.”
What do we know about the officers?
The five officers have been charged with second-degree murder, official misconduct, aggravated kidnapping, official oppression and aggravated assault.
Here is what is known about each one.
Demetrius Haley. Pic: AP
Demetrius Haley, 30
Haley joined the Memphis Police Department in August 2020.
He previously worked as a corrections officer for the Shelby County Corrections Department and was accused of assaulting an inmate.
The lawsuit against him was dismissed as the inmate failed to complete all the paperwork.
Tadarrius Bean. Pic: AP
Tadarrius Bean, 24
Bean was also hired in August 2020 having previously worked at a fast food restaurant and a telecoms company AT&T, according to his LinkedIn profile.
It says he studied criminal justice and law enforcement at the University of Mississippi from 2016 until 2020, and did an internship with the campus police department.
Emmitt Martin III. Pic: AP
Emmitt Martin III, 30
Martin was hired by the Memphis Police Department in March 2018.
Joshua Harper, a pastor in Memphis, said he followed Martin on social media and that the man depicted in court papers “is not the person that I know”.
“I was shocked only for a second because I understood that he was a police officer and I know behind the badge that anything can happen when anyone has power and authority,” Harper said.
Desmond Mills Jr. Pic: AP
Desmond Mills Jr, 32
Mills was hired by the Memphis Police Department in March 2017.
He was nicknamed “Box” when he played American football for West Virginia State University.
One of his former coaches, Kip Shaw, said: “When I saw the news, I was just shocked. I’ve been coaching a long time and you just never know. I told my wife, ‘That man played for us at West Virginia State’.”
Justin Smith, 28
Justin Smith. Pic: AP
Smith was hired by the Memphis Police Department in March 2018.
Following his arrest, Smith posted his $250,000 bail and was released from custody Thursday night.
A shirtless man waving a Mexican flag stands atop a burning car in the heart of Los Angeles, as another man throws a traffic cone into the flames and some play drums and shout chants in opposition to immigration officials.
In the background, city hall can be glimpsed through a haze of thick black smoke.
The downtown district of one of America’s biggest cities was a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness as protests, which had previously been mainly peaceful, turned ugly.
Critics of Donald Trump said the president’s extraordinary decision to deploy National Guard troops, defying the wishes of the state’s governor, had inflamed tensions and stoked emotions.
A protester throws a cone into a burning fire in LA. Pic: Reuters/Daniel Cole
The 101 Freeway, the main highway cutting through the downtown area, was also closed down for much of the day as police and protesters faced off, with flash bang devices sending some people scattering.
Bottles and other projectiles were hurled towards police, who responded by using tear gas and rubber bullets.
It was this chaos, his critics say, that Donald Trump wanted to provoke.
California Highway Patrol officers try to dodge rocks being thrown. Pic: AP/Ethan Swope
Trump’s decision to call in 2,000 National Guard troops, several hundred of whom were on the streets of LA on Sunday, was taken without consultation with the California governor and LA mayor, and marked an extraordinary escalation by the president.
The military arrived on Sunday morning and was ordered to guard federal buildings, after two days of protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
As part of Trump’s closed border policy, ICE has been ordered to find, detain and deport as many illegal immigrants as possible, and it was these raids that stoked the first signs of protest on Friday into the weekend.
Smoke rises as the National Guard clashed with protesters in downtown Los Angeles.
Pic: Reuters/Daniel Cole
By midday Sunday, the military was surrounded by protesters outside the Metropolitan Detention Centre in downtown LA. It was here that many immigrants had been held before being shipped off to detention facilities.
The walls and floors are covered in expletive-ridden graffiti, reading f*** ICE.
The Los Angeles police soon split the crowd and drove a wedge between the National Guard and the crowd.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has called Donald Trump’s acts those of a “dictator, not a president”.
A police officer fires a soft round in Los Angeles. Pic: AP Photo/Eric Thayer
Los Angeles Metro Police officers strike protesters during unrest in the downtown area of the city.
Pic: Reuters/Daniel Cole
He’s formally requested that the Trump administration withdraw the National Guard. The White House say the military will remain there until order is restored. Five hundred marines are still on standby.
Los Angeles Police Department police chief Jim McDonnell, asked whether the National Guard was needed, said: “This thing has gotten out of control.”
He said that although the LAPD would not initially have requested assistance from the National Guard, the disorder had caused him to reevaluate his assessment.
US correspondent Martha Kelner is reporting from Los Angeles
Several people were arrested.
Sky News witnessed a young woman, who called herself Gabriella, riding her motorbike at speed towards a line of police officers.
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One of the police officers used his arm to push her off the bike. She said she was protesting because her “people were being rounded up.”
Politicians on both sides of the aisle condemned the violence, but some vehemently disagreed about what actions led to the escalation.
US
National Guard to be deployed to LA immigration ‘riots’ – as Trump claims state officials ‘can’t do their jobs’
The National Guard will be deployed to Los Angeles after “riots” in response to immigration raids extended into a second day.
California Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed that the Trump administration is deploying “2,000 soldiers” to Los Angeles after local police used tear gas, stun guns, and riot shields to push back immigration protesters on Saturday.
Demonstrations began outside the Los Angeles Federal Building in the downtown area of LA on Friday after officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out raids in the area.
On Saturday, several dozen protesters were involved in police standoffs in Paramount, a city south of LA.
Mr Newsom warned in a post on X: “The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate. That is not the way any civilized country behaves.”
He described the deployment as “purposefully inflammatory” and claimed it will “only escalate tensions”.
President Donald Trump hit back at Mr Newsom in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday.
“If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!,” he wrote.
Mr Trump’s defence secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that active duty marines would also be mobilised if “violence continues”.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy holds back protesters in Paramount, Los Angeles on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
Fireworks amid police standoffs with protesters in Paramount, Los Angeles on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
LA mayor Karen Bass said that amid the recovery from this year’s wildfires, “many in our community are feeling fear” following “recent federal immigration enforcement actions” across LA County.
“We’ve been in direct contact with officials in Washington, D.C., and are working closely with law enforcement to find the best path forward,” she said.
“Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but let me be clear: violence and destruction are unacceptable, and those responsible will be held accountable.”
Reports the guard would be deployed to LA came earlier on Saturday, from Mr Trump’s border tsar Tom Homan on Fox News.
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Tear gas is fired at protesters in Paramount on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
Fires amid immigration protests in Paramount, Los Angeles County on Saturday. Pic: AP
44 arrested in Friday raids
At least 44 people were arrested on suspicion of immigration violations during raids on Friday, with crowds of around “1,000 rioters” forming around the building before some “assaulted law enforcement officers, slashed tires, and defaced taxpayer-funded property”, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The raids saw street vendors and day workers rounded up across Home Depots, a clothing factory, and a warehouse, Salas of Chirla (The Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles) said.
In a statement on Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “violent mobs” had “attacked ICE officers and federal law enforcement agents carrying out basic deportation operations”.
She described such activity as “essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States”.
Ms Leavitt said Californian politicians were “feckless” and had “completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens”, prompting Mr Trump’s order to send in the guard.
Police fire stun grenades at protesters outside the Los Angeles Federal Building on Friday. Pic: Reuters
A protester holds up a sign to police outside the Los Angeles Federal Building on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Protests spread to second city
On Saturday, protests spread to the Paramount area, where there is a significant Latino population, after demonstrators spotted ICE employees in a Home Depot car park they appeared to be using as a base.
Law enforcement officers faced off protesters at a road junction at around 5pm where a car had been set on fire earlier in the day.
The roads were pictured strewn with trolleys and rubbish bins set on fire, as gas canisters and fireworks were also set off.
A car burns on Atlantic Boulevard in Paramount, Los Angeles on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
The car burnt out in Paramount on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
Commenting on Saturday’s protests, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said: “It appeared that federal law enforcement officers were in the area, and that members of the public were gathering to protest.”
Vice President JD Vance claimed that “insurrectionists” were seen “carrying foreign flags” and “attacking immigration enforcement officers” in Paramount.
“One half of America’s political leadership has decided that border enforcement is evil,” he posted on X. “Time to pass President Trump’s beautiful bill and further secure the border.”
Mexican and US flags are flown by protesters in Paramount. Pic: Reuters
‘Death to ICE’, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is written on a bin in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. Pic: Reuters
The clashes come amid Trump’s nationwide crackdown on illegal migration.
As soon as he was re-elected in January he set a target of arresting 3,000 suspected illegal migrants per day – and promised to lock down the US-Mexico border.
Elon Musk’s social media post claiming Donald Trump is in files relating to the disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein has been removed.
The tech billionaire made the allegation on X as he traded blows with the US president in a dramatic public row.
In the post, which now appears to have been deleted, Musk said: “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.
“Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
He gave no evidence for the claim, which was dismissed by the White House – with the post disappearing from his social media platform by Sunday.
Users clicking on the message – first posted on Thursday – were instead greeted with: “Hmm…this page doesn’t exist. Try searching for something else.”
Epstein killed himself in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors.
File pic: Reuters
Musk and Mr Trump’s relationship broke down publicly on Thursday, just days after the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive left his role as a special government employee.
In a fiery exchange, Musk posted a series of messages on X criticising the president’s signature tax and spending bill as a “big ugly spending bill”.
President Trump posted on Truth Social, saying Musk had been “wearing thin” and claimed he “asked him to leave” his government position – something Musk denied.
Read more:
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Musk then hit back with his claim about the US president appearing in the Epstein files.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the comment in a statement.
“This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted,” she said.
“The president is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.”
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The spat hit Tesla shares, which closed down 14.3% on Thursday, losing about $150bn (£111bn) in value.
In an interview with ABC News, Mr Trump was asked about reports a phone call was scheduled between him and Musk on Friday.
He reportedly said: “You mean the man who has lost his mind?”
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