# What $28 Million Bought the Memphis Police Department  ## Metadata - Author:: [[The Intercept]] - Full Title:: What $28 Million Bought the Memphis Police Department - Category: #articles - URL: https://theintercept.com/2023/01/31/tyre-nichols-memphis-police/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter ## Highlights > The Memphis Police Department unit that beat 29-year-old Tyre Nichols during a January 7 traffic stop was part of a division that operated with an annual budget of more than $28 million a year from the time of its creation in 2021 until it was disbanded over the weekend. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9ageq64m6h7x5ddy9n1pym)) > Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, or SCORPION ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9agt77sh37a3kspbqckpyy)) > Some of the anti-crime units have been accused of excessive force; in the killing of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor by Louisville, Kentucky, police in 2020, that force was deadly. In addition, the units, as in the case of SCORPION in Memphis, are expensive to maintain, rekindling a national debate about the funding of police departments. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9ahqkmb35z4kdvbjsgs48w)) > The SCORPION unit is what ‘fund the police’ rhetoric looks like in reality,” Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell said in a statement to The Intercept. “Instead of pouring more money into militarized forces that brutalize, terrorize, and even murder, we should fund libraries, after-school programs, good jobs, and other investments proven to keep us safe.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9aj5bp1v5wypmcjzev3159)) > The Memphis Police Department’s proposed budget for 2023 is $284.75 million, an increase of just under $10 million. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9akn8ef39j87k1ev5ncce6)) > Part of the organized crime division, the unit was composed of 40 officers and used crime data to determine where it would conduct enforcement activities. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9am5pxb62ajp7w99brwkj3)) > In its first three months in operation, the SCORPION unit made more than [560 arrests](https://www.memphistn.gov/news/a-city-on-the-rise/). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9amhjkbjrbkf845367y2a1)) > A former Memphis cop [told](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tyre-nichols-former-memphis-police-officer-scorpion-unit/) CBS News that the unit was composed of young officers with little experience and that training was scant and included three days of PowerPoint presentations, one day of training in suspect apprehension, and one day at a firing range. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9an5tyv345ctr6043w31gr)) - Note: Oh, good god > The behavior of these units can morph into ‘wolf pack’ misconduct that takes away a person’s liberty or freedom to move, akin to a kidnapping.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9aphze43kebcsghb6reww0)) # What $28 Million Bought the Memphis Police Department  ## Metadata - Author:: [[The Intercept]] - Full Title:: What $28 Million Bought the Memphis Police Department - Category: #articles - URL: https://theintercept.com/2023/01/31/tyre-nichols-memphis-police/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=The%20Intercept%20Newsletter ## Highlights > The Memphis Police Department unit that beat 29-year-old Tyre Nichols during a January 7 traffic stop was part of a division that operated with an annual budget of more than $28 million a year from the time of its creation in 2021 until it was disbanded over the weekend. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9ageq64m6h7x5ddy9n1pym)) > Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, or SCORPION ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9agt77sh37a3kspbqckpyy)) > Some of the anti-crime units have been accused of excessive force; in the killing of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor by Louisville, Kentucky, police in 2020, that force was deadly. In addition, the units, as in the case of SCORPION in Memphis, are expensive to maintain, rekindling a national debate about the funding of police departments. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9ahqkmb35z4kdvbjsgs48w)) > The SCORPION unit is what ‘fund the police’ rhetoric looks like in reality,” Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell said in a statement to The Intercept. “Instead of pouring more money into militarized forces that brutalize, terrorize, and even murder, we should fund libraries, after-school programs, good jobs, and other investments proven to keep us safe.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9aj5bp1v5wypmcjzev3159)) > The Memphis Police Department’s proposed budget for 2023 is $284.75 million, an increase of just under $10 million. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9akn8ef39j87k1ev5ncce6)) > Part of the organized crime division, the unit was composed of 40 officers and used crime data to determine where it would conduct enforcement activities. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9am5pxb62ajp7w99brwkj3)) > In its first three months in operation, the SCORPION unit made more than [560 arrests](https://www.memphistn.gov/news/a-city-on-the-rise/). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9amhjkbjrbkf845367y2a1)) > A former Memphis cop [told](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tyre-nichols-former-memphis-police-officer-scorpion-unit/) CBS News that the unit was composed of young officers with little experience and that training was scant and included three days of PowerPoint presentations, one day of training in suspect apprehension, and one day at a firing range. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9an5tyv345ctr6043w31gr)) - Note: Oh, good god > The behavior of these units can morph into ‘wolf pack’ misconduct that takes away a person’s liberty or freedom to move, akin to a kidnapping.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01gr9aphze43kebcsghb6reww0))