There are 8 article(s) tagged MPD SCORPION unit:

• March 2023

  • Locally and nationally, new approaches seek to lessen confrontational traffic stops

    “We have to have this broader view of what we’re trying to get done and what the goal is,” says Cardell Orrin.

    By Ben Wheeler March 19, 2023

  • File confirms identity of retired officer in Nichols case

    Memphis Police Department Lt. Dewayne Smith, a 25-year veteran, has been identified as the officer who retired before an administrative hearing into his involvement in the death of Tyre Nichols.

    By Ben Wheeler March 17, 2023

  • Third of all SCORPION officers had infractions

    The Daily Memphian has identified all 56 MPD officers who were a part of SCORPION, the now disbanded unit whose officers were criminally charged with the death of Tyre Nichols. One local law enforcement leader says the stats show MPD needs more rigid hiring practices. 

    By Ben Wheeler March 13, 2023

  • SCORPION traffic stop data shines a light on the former unit

    The Nichols case has intensified the national debate on using highly aggressive tactics to battle violent crime and the pretexts that are often used. Most of the stops identified and mapped out by The Daily Memphian were made in the most impoverished areas of the city.

    By Ben Wheeler March 02, 2023

• February 2023

  • Former SCORPION supervisor had troubled past

    Memphis Police Department commanders gave Lt. Dewayne Smith a sensitive assignment — overseeing members of the controversial SCORPION unit — despite a checkered past that included giving unreliable testimony in a federal drug case.

    Related story:

    Additional Nichols’ video could be released, city attorney says

    By Marc Perrusquia February 22, 2023

  • Ex-SCORPION officers transferred to MPD’s Organized Crime Unit

    Though SCORPION already was affiliated with MPD’s larger Organized Crime Unit, all 35 of those officers were transferred to other parts of OCU.

    By Marc Perrusquia February 17, 2023

  • Questionable arrests by SCORPION unit now face dismissal

    With credibility on the line for members of the Memphis Police Department’s now-disbanded SCORPION unit, attorneys anticipate mass dismissals of criminal cases filed against citizens arrested by the unit.

    By Marc Perrusquia February 13, 2023

  • Data-driven policing at forefront of discussions over Memphis police tactics

    Memphis is re-evaluating its policing tactics, including the use of data-driven special units like SCORPION, in the wake of the Tyre Nichols death. 

    By Ben Wheeler February 13, 2023