By Chuck Warren
The Wall Street Journal tonight reported that, “In the process of listening intently to the family of Tyre Nichols, community leaders and the uninvolved officers who have done quality work in their assignments, it is in the best interests of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION unit,” the statement said.
“It is imperative that we, the Memphis Police Department, take proactive steps in the healing process for all impacted,” the department said.
The Memphis Police created the unit in the fall of 2021. Scorpion stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods. The unit of four 10-person teams focused on violent-crime reduction in high-crime areas of the city.
According to ABC News, the SCORPION unit patrolled "high crime hotspots" throughout the city … MPD Assistant Chief Sean Jones told reporters during the launch that SCORPION officers would focus on auto thefts, gang-related crimes, and drug-related crimes.
"It's important to us that each member of the community feels they can go to the grocery store or live in their house without their house being shot or shooting frequently occurring on the streets and on the roadways," Jones told ABC affiliate WATN in November 2021.
The locations chosen by the police were determined based on the number of 911 calls, Jones said at the time.
Two months into SCORPION's deployment, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland touted the unit's effectiveness. In his state of the city speech, Strickland claimed the unit was responsible for 566 arrests, 390 of them felony arrests, seized $103,000 in cash, 270 vehicles and 253 weapons between October 2021 and Jan. 23, 2022.
The Memphis police officers responsible for this animalistic attack are being charged with second degree murder. Reports say that Mr. Nichols family agrees with the charges – though it does not bring back their son, brother, and father.
One question that unfortunately will not be discussed with any depth or length by self-anointed inner-city leaders and MSM is why is there a need for a SCORPION unit?
One data point is that “Memphis, Tennessee is among the U.S. cities with the highest homicide rates. There were a total of 289 murders reported in the city in 2020, or 44.4 for every 100,000 people — well above the national homicide rate of 6.5 murders per 100,000.”
Or that “The number of car jackings - defined as auto theft or attempted theft by force or threat - rose by 24% in seven cities: Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Memphis, Norfolk and San Francisco. An estimated $7.4 billion was lost because of vehicle theft in the US in 2020, the FBI found.”
Those numbers aside, a defenseless man was senselessly killed. His child will not get to know his father. His mother is without a son. No justification for it, but the data points shared – and I am sure there are much more – clearly contributed to why Memphis felt the need to create the SCORPION unit which is now being disbanded.
In addition to justice being served regarding this heinous act, our inner cities need to have a real introspective moment and ask why units such as SCORPION are created and maintained.
I fear the collective victim mentality perpetuated by some will not allow us to confront the inner-city violence and crime which destroys too many lives.