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Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The Memphis Police Department announced Saturday that its Scorpion police unit has been permanently deactivated after the death of Tyre Nichols. The decision came after it was revealed that all five police officers who have been charged with murder for Nichols' death were members of the controversial unit, fully named the "Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods," which was launched to company crime in November 2021.
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"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 interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION unit," the Memphis Police Department said in a statement.
"The officers currently assigned to the unit agree unreservedly with this next step. While the heinous actions of a few casts a cloud of dishonor on the title of SCORPION, it is imperative that we, the Memphis Police Department, take proactive steps in the healing process for all impacted."
Authorities released video footage showing the five officers beating Nichols and using stun guns on him as he called out for his mother during a traffic stop on Jan. 7. Nichols died three days later.
The officers -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Desmond Mills Jr. -- have all been fired from the department and charged with second-degree murder. They were released Friday after posting bail.
On Friday, protesters took to the streets in cities across the country on Friday following the release of footage.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Tony Romanucci, who are representing the Nichols family, issued a statement Saturday after the decision to disband the Scorpion unit.
"The Nichols family and their legal time find the decision to permanently disband this unit to be both appropriate and proportional to the tragic death of Tyre Nichols, and also a decent and just decision for all citizens in Memphis," the statement reads.
"We hope that other cities take similar action with their saturation police units in the near future to begin to create greater trust in their communities. We must keep in mind that this is just the next step on this journey for justice and accountability, as clearly this misconduct is not restricted to these specialty units. It extends much further."
Patrice Robinson, a member of the Memphis City Council, told CNN on Saturday that disbanding the Scorpion unit does not go far enough.
"Our community deserves better. We have to fight the bad players in our community, and now we've got to fight our own police officers. That is deplorable," Robinson said. "We're going to have to do something."
JB Smiley Jr., another member of the city council, told CNN that deactivating the unit was "absolutely necessary."
"My concern going forward is to make sure we don't create another unit and just call it something else. We have to be intentional about making sure that we restructure everything as it relates to these types of units going into the communities and terrorizing people," Smiley said.
"What you would almost expect at the next council meeting, there will be a series of legislation addressing Memphis police, police transparency, excessive force, body cam and, more specifically as it relates to this, training.
