Footage of Memphis officers viciously beating Tyre Nichols reveals a culture of violence in the department’s SCORPION unit — which Nichols’ family’s legal team insisted be scrapped — civil rights attorney Ben Crump told CNN hours after the squad was disbanded for good.
“We think that this was part of the culture of the SCORPION unit. And so we demanded that they disbanded immediately before we see anything like this happen again,” Crump told Pamela Brown on Saturday.
That critical step, though, is not enough, Crump continued.
“I think we need to know if there’s a patten and practice of excessive use of force. I know the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is investigating this killing of Tyre Nichols. But our hope is that we’ll expand the pattern and practice (probe) because many citizens have questioned not just the SCORPION unit but the Memphis Police Department and their policing where this bias towards Black people,” he said. “It is important to look into, and … there are people reaching out and their complaints weren’t being heard before this Tyre Nichols death garnered national attention. That’s concerning.”
As the nation absorbs the stunning video of Nichols’ deadly encounter with police, there will be “more fallout,” Crump added.
“Whether that’s going to lead to criminal charges, we have to see, but we do think there was some other officers there that should have been charged, not just these five,” Crump said, noting new video that shows officers walking around Nichols as he lay on the ground.
“How heartbreaking was it when he was handcuffed there on the ground moaning and everybody was walking around so nonchalantly, as if this was just business as usual?” Crump asked. “That’s why we said the SCORPION unit has got to go.”
