What is Scorpion, the now disbanded police unit at the centre of Tyre Nichols’ death?
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.
Warning: This article contains violent images
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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”, announced on Saturday that after “listening intently” to Nichols’ relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers, she felt “it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit.”
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 Nichols, 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”.
Read more:
‘New clock’ on police accountability after officers sacked within weeks of fatal beating
Timeline of violent arrest
Arrest video is sickening indictment of policing that night
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.
US
Gwyneth Paltrow wins high-profile civil court case against man who claimed she crashed into him while skiing
Gwyneth Paltrow has won a high-profile civil court case against a man who claimed she crashed into him while skiing.
She was awarded $1 in damages after the jury found retired optometrist Terry Sanderson was “100%” at fault for the skiing accident.
The jurors deliberated for two hours on Thursday after hearing eight days of evidence.
Paltrow, dressed in a navy blazer jacket and striped shirt, did not react when the verdict was announced.
In a statement released after the verdict, she said she was “pleased” with the outcome.
“I felt that acquiescing to a false claim comprised my integrity,” she said.
“I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case.”
Mr Sanderson, 76, sued the Hollywood actress for $300,000 (£242,000), saying the 2016 collision on the slopes of Utah left him with several broken ribs and severe brain injuries.
Paltrow, who is also a lifestyle influencer, denied the claims, alleging Mr Sanderson crashed into her at the Deer Valley resort, and caused her to lose “half a day of skiing”.
Terry Sanderson testifies in Park City, Utah
She counter-sued him for the awarded amount of $1 and her legal fees.
During the court case in Park City, jurors heard evidence from a variety of medical experts, ski instructors, and members of both Mr Sanderson and Paltrow’s family, including the actress’ children Apple and Moses Martin.
Mr Sanderson said he had become a “self-imposed recluse” after the incident and had been advised never to ski again in case of further injury.
But Paltrow’s lawyers showed photos of him enjoying multiple holidays after the accident.
Paltrow’s legal team played an animation of how they say the crash happened. Paltrow is seen on top of Mr Sanderson
Oscar-winning actress Paltrow, 50, said she felt “very sorry” for Mr Sanderson but reiterated that she was not “at fault” for the crash.
Mr Sanderson said he had been told by medical experts that travelling would be “healing” for him and that he had struggled during his trips.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in New York, making him the first ex-president to face criminal charges.
The case against him centres on a $130,000 (£105,000) payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Live updates – Prosecutors launch first ever criminal case against former president
What is Trump accused of doing?
Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had an affair with Mr Trump in 2006, which the former US president denies.
In 2016 when he was running for president, she offered to sell her story to the press.
Mr Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen was notified of her plans, resulting in a $130,000 (£105,000) payment being made to keep Ms Daniels quiet.
Once he was elected, Mr Trump reimbursed Mr Cohen by paying him more than double the original amount. He continued to deny the affair, however.
Pic: AP
New York investigators have been looking into the former president’s finances for years – originally led by former District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.
But when he was replaced with Alvin Bragg in 2022, Mr Bragg decided to drop the grand jury investigation into claims the Trump empire fraudulently inflated its real estate value.
Instead he decided to focus on the hush money case last summer, impanelling a grand jury (one assembled in secret to determine whether there’s enough evidence to prosecute) in January.
Soon after Mr Cohen, who was jailed on several counts in 2018, was summoned by prosecutors.
According to court documents, Mr Trump falsely listed his former lawyer’s reimbursement as “legal services”.
What charges could Trump face?
It is not yet known what Mr Trump will be charged with.
But among the options for prosecutors is an accounting fraud charge over the payment made to Mr Cohen.
They could also decide to indict him on campaign fraud charges – as silencing Ms Daniels’s claims could have helped propel him to power.
Mr Trump has described the investigation as a politically motivated “witch hunt”.
US
Donald Trump faces criminal charges over alleged hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels
Donald Trump has been indicted on criminal charges arising from an alleged hush money payment to an adult film actress.
A grand jury in New York voted to indict Trump over possible offences related to a $130,000 (£105,000) payment to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
It was allegedly made in exchange for Daniels’ silence about an alleged sexual encounter she said she had with Trump a decade earlier.
He is the first former US president to face criminal charges in court, even as he makes a bid to retake the White House in 2024.
Stormy Daniels in Manhattan in 2018. Pic: AP
Trump, a Republican, said he was “completely innocent” and called the indictment “political persecution”, with his lawyers saying they will “vigorously fight” it.
Live updates: Prosecutors launch criminal case against Trump
The Manhattan district attorney’s investigation centred on accusations of money paid to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, whom Trump allegedly feared would go public with claims they had extramarital sexual encounters with him.
Trump, 76, has denied having affairs with either woman.
His former personal lawyer Michael Cohen said he co-ordinated with Trump on the payments to Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, and also to McDougal.
Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in 2018 related to the payments and served more than a year in prison.
Federal prosecutors said Cohen acted at Trump’s direction.
Trump’s ex-personal lawyer Michael Cohen served more than a year in prison
Trump said: “The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable – indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant election interference.”
“Never before in our nation’s history has this been done.”
He added: “I believe this witch-hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden.”
Donald Trump pictured on his plane. Image: AP
Read more:
Trump says investigations ‘straight out of Stalinist Russia horror show’
Who is Stormy Daniels?
How many investigations is former US president facing?
Trump was expected to surrender to authorities next week.
He has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly attacked the investigation by district attorney Alvin Bragg.
His office has spent nearly five years investigating Trump and the grand jury has been hearing its evidence since January.
Trump son hits out at indictment
On Twitter, one of Trump’s sons, Eric, wrote: “This is third world prosecutorial misconduct. It is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year.”
Amid speculation in recent weeks that the former American leader was due to be indicted, Trump urged his supporters to protest against the authorities if he was detained.
Trump dances during a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, on 25 March. Pic: AP
He published a long statement describing the investigation as a “political witch-hunt trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party”.
“I did absolutely nothing wrong,” he said, before criticising a “corrupt, depraved and weaponised justice system”.
Other ongoing cases Trump faces include a Georgia election interference probe and two federal investigations into his role in the 6 January 2001 insurrection at the US Capitol.
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