{"id":3488,"date":"2023-01-29T00:23:22","date_gmt":"2023-01-29T00:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=3488"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:39:46","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:39:46","slug":"memphis-disperses-the-police-with-a-fatal-beating-more-protests-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/magazine\/health-and-lifestyle\/memphis-disperses-the-police-with-a-fatal-beating-more-protests-expected\/2023\/01\/29\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Memphis disperses the police with a fatal beating more protests expected"},"content":{"rendered":"

MEMPHIS,<\/span> Tennessee<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> A<\/span> specialized<\/span> police<\/span> force,<\/span> including<\/span> at<\/span> least<\/span> some<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Memphis<\/span> officers<\/span> involved<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> fatal<\/span> beating<\/span> of<\/span> Tyre<\/span> Nichols,<\/span> was<\/span> disbanded<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday,<\/span> police<\/span> said.<\/span> It<\/span> was<\/span> scheduled<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> day<\/span> after<\/span> the<\/span> harrowing<\/span> video<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> attack<\/span> was<\/span> released.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> a<\/span> statement,<\/span> the<\/span> department<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> would<\/span> permanently<\/span> disable<\/span> the<\/span> SCORPION<\/span> unit<\/span> after<\/span> the<\/span> police<\/span> chief<\/span> spoke<\/span> to<\/span> Nichols’<\/span> family,<\/span> community<\/span> leaders<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> officials.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Video<\/span> footage<\/span> from<\/span> body-worn<\/span> police<\/span> cameras<\/span> and<\/span> pole-mounted<\/span> cameras<\/span> showed<\/span> Nicholls,<\/span> a<\/span> 29-year-old<\/span> black<\/span> man,<\/span> repeatedly<\/span> yelling<\/span> “Mom!”<\/span> When<\/span> police<\/span> kicked,<\/span> punched<\/span> and<\/span> batoned<\/span> him<\/span> after<\/span> traffic<\/span> stopped<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> mother’s<\/span> neighborhood<\/span> on<\/span> Jan.<\/span> 7.<\/span> He<\/span> was<\/span> hospitalized<\/span> and<\/span> died<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> injuries<\/span> three<\/span> days<\/span> later.<\/span> The<\/span> release<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> clip<\/span> on<\/span> Friday<\/span> sparked<\/span> protests<\/span> in<\/span> Memphis<\/span> and<\/span> elsewhere,<\/span> prompting<\/span> many<\/span> cities<\/span> to<\/span> prepare<\/span> for<\/span> more<\/span> demonstrations<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Five<\/span> all-black<\/span> police<\/span> officers<\/span> involved<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> assault<\/span> were<\/span> charged<\/span> Thursday<\/span> with<\/span> murder,<\/span> assault,<\/span> kidnapping<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> charges.<\/span> All<\/span> were<\/span> released<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> department.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> Memphis<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday,<\/span> protesters<\/span> chanted,<\/span> “Whose<\/span> street?<\/span> Our<\/span> street!<\/span> When<\/span> I<\/span> learned<\/span> about<\/span> the<\/span> dissolution<\/span> of<\/span> SCORPION,<\/span> a<\/span> big<\/span> cheer<\/span> went<\/span> up.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> unit<\/span> was<\/span> formed<\/span> in<\/span> October<\/span> 2021<\/span> to<\/span> focus<\/span> on<\/span> crime<\/span> hotspots.<\/span> Critics<\/span> say<\/span> such<\/span> professional<\/span> teams<\/span> can<\/span> be<\/span> vulnerable<\/span> to<\/span> abusive<\/span> tactics.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Taken<\/span> together,<\/span> the<\/span> four<\/span> video<\/span> clips<\/span> of<\/span> him<\/span> showed<\/span> police<\/span> beating<\/span> Nichols,<\/span> even<\/span> though<\/span> Nichols<\/span> appeared<\/span> to<\/span> pose<\/span> no<\/span> threat.<\/span> The<\/span> first<\/span> stop<\/span> was<\/span> due<\/span> to<\/span> reckless<\/span> driving,<\/span> but<\/span> the<\/span> police<\/span> chief<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> reason<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> stop<\/span> was<\/span> not<\/span> explained.<\/span> Friends<\/span> and<\/span> family<\/span> say<\/span> Nichols<\/span> was<\/span> a<\/span> good-natured,<\/span> talented<\/span> skateboarder<\/span> who<\/span> grew<\/span> up<\/span> in<\/span> Sacramento,<\/span> Calif.,<\/span> and<\/span> moved<\/span> to<\/span> Memphis<\/span> before<\/span> the<\/span> coronavirus<\/span> pandemic.<\/span> ,<\/span> recently<\/span> enrolled<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> photography<\/span> class.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Nate<\/span> Speights<\/span> Jr.,<\/span> 42,<\/span> was<\/span> part<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> circle<\/span> of<\/span> friends,<\/span> including<\/span> Nichols,<\/span> whom<\/span> he<\/span> met<\/span> at<\/span> a<\/span> local<\/span> Starbucks.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“He<\/span> liked<\/span> what<\/span> he<\/span> liked<\/span> and<\/span> was<\/span> marching<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> beat<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> own<\/span> drum,”<\/span> Speights<\/span> said,<\/span> while<\/span> Nichols<\/span> went<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> park<\/span> called<\/span> Shelby<\/span> Farms<\/span> to<\/span> watch<\/span> the<\/span> sunset.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Nichols’<\/span> death<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> latest<\/span> high-profile<\/span> example<\/span> of<\/span> police<\/span> use<\/span> of<\/span> excessive<\/span> force<\/span> against<\/span> blacks<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> minorities.<\/span> The<\/span> 2020<\/span> killing<\/span> of<\/span> black<\/span> George<\/span> Floyd<\/span> in<\/span> Minneapolis<\/span> after<\/span> a<\/span> white<\/span> police<\/span> officer<\/span> kneeled<\/span> on<\/span> his<\/span> neck<\/span> for<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> nine<\/span> minutes<\/span> sparked<\/span> global<\/span> protests<\/span> against<\/span> racism.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Reuters) – A specialized police force, including at least some of the Memphis officers involved in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, was disbanded on Saturday, police said. It was scheduled for the day after the harrowing video of the attack was released. In a statement, the department said it would permanently disable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[562,779,2425],"tags":[77,741,909,910,911],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/POL.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3488"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3488"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3490,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3488\/revisions\/3490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}