Memphis’ question: Can we have tough policing without brutality?

Safety shouldn’t be a choice between rampant crime and violent overpolicing. Memphis thought it might have had an answer. But Tyre Nichols’ death shows how it spiraled out of control.

SCORPION hit the streets of Memphis, Tennessee, in late 2021 in unmarked cars, some without standard-issue dashboard cameras.

The police crime-suppression unit, divided into four, 10-person teams, racked up hundreds of arrests in months. It targeted suspected drug dens, gun smugglers, and reckless drivers who had grown brash during the pandemic.

SCORPION’s sting was effective, city leaders said. The acronym stands for Street Crimes Operation To Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, and by late last year, the crime wave had begun to subside. Democratic Mayor Jim Strickland hailed its achievements in his 2022 State of the City speech. In a city where leaders had embraced post-George Floyd police reforms, the changes seemed significant. Was Memphis on to something?

On Saturday, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis permanently disbanded SCORPION. Hours earlier, the United States watched in horror as a video released by the city showed five of the unit’s officers beating Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old motorist, so badly that he died from his injuries three days later.