![]() It doesn’t matter what name you slap on it.” “But it’s really just stop-and-frisk on wheels. “They harass everyday residents, and they’re calling this high-level policing,” Glass said. “In that context, it can very easily go overboard, which it obviously did in this case.”Ĭhelsea Glass, an organizer with Decarcerate Memphis, which advocates for reform of the criminal justice system, said Scorpion was a “rebranding” of a common police tactic: a street crime-fighting team that relied on low-level traffic stops as pretexts to find violent criminals and weapons. “You’re using officers to send a message that we’re here and we’re not going to tolerate criminal activity anymore,” said Chapman, who is the executive director of CrimeStoppers of Memphis and Shelby County, which offers cash for tips about crimes. When he led the force, officers were not considered for specialized units without at least seven years on the job, he said. Winslow “Buddy” Chapman, who was the director of the police department from 1976 to 1983, said he was surprised to hear that officers who were young and inexperienced were placed on a unit like Scorpion. Clockwise from top left: Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Desmond Mills Jr. Five Memphis police officers were fired and charged in connection with a traffic stop that led to the death of Tyre Nichols. The officers charged in Nichols’ death were hired from 2017 to 2020. LeSure said former colleagues 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.” “Rookies were getting put on specialized units where they had no business being,” he said. The unit also busted an alleged stolen car chop shop after having tracked a stolen car, searched the scene of a burglary and found drugs and guns, and it took a suspected carjacker into custody. Scorpion-led operations promoted on the police department’s Facebook page provide a glimpse into its work: arrests that begin with traffic stops, escalate into more serious confrontations and end with arrests of people for drugs and guns. In its first three months, Scorpion made hundreds of arrests and seized hundreds of cars and weapons, Strickland said. He touted it as part of an anti-crime strategy that also included a gun violence intervention program and more money for the police department. Mayor Jim Strickland promoted the new Scorpion unit as part of the solution in his January 2022 State of the City speech. The police department reported 346 in 2021 - up from 332 the previous year. Memphis set a record for homicides in 2021 for the second year in a row. ![]() The officers’ “crime suppression” assignments changed depending on where crime was worst. Made up of 40 officers divided into four 10-member teams, the unit was tasked not only with addressing violent crime, but also with investigating car thefts and gangs. Memphis’ Scorpion unit was created in October 2021 under the police department’s Organized Crime Unit.
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