It's Going DownJan 28, 2023

#TyreNichols was brutally beaten by officers connected to the SCORPION (Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods) Unit. This unit was established in the fall of 2021, amid growing cries around 'rising crime.'

The unit was known for targeting 'hot spots' with special officers dressed in street clothes.

This mirrors similar units, such as the Gun Trace Task force in #Baltimore that was established in the wake of the uprising there, which kicked off following the police murder of Freddie Grey. Through that unit, under the cover of getting guns off the street and reducing the murder rate, police systematically fleeced the local Black community of cash and engaged in a variety of illegal behavior.

In #Memphis, we see a similar situation play out: out of the ashes of the George Floyd uprising, instead of defunding the police and shifting resources into schools, programs, and infrastructure, cities doubled down and gave police more money to 'combat crime,' aka come down harder on the same communities who were at the center of uprising.

Predictably, this resulted in only more death and police violence.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/memphis-police-scorpion-unit-tyre-nichols-rcna67711

Memphis police’s Scorpion unit under scrutiny after Tyre Nichols’ killing

The Memphis Police Department's Scorpion unit launched in 2021 to target violent crime. Its officers were involved in killing Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop.

NBC News
Show threadex or current IDF unwelcomeJan 28, 2023
@igd_news Defunding police not the answer. As in the Metropolitan Police in UK first weed out your thugs, sex offenders and partner beaters. Replace with heavily vetted honest people
Show threadRanger Nietzsche

@JohnLoader6 @igd_news

It's absurd that when I encounter a construction crew, a uniformed, armed officer who will retire at 55 with a full pension is standing in the road directing traffic.

It's absurd that when people want to do wellness checks on their relatives, a pair of armed officers is who the city will send.

It's absurd that when I want to file an identity theft report, I need a fully trained and pensioned cop.

That's part of what defund means. The departments are bloated as hell.

Jan 29, 2023 at 1:45amWeb
Show threadex or current IDF unwelcomeJan 29, 2023
@RNietzsche @igd_news in the UK cops aren't usually armed and except for wellness check they wouldn't bother with the other bits. Defunded until raw
Show threadRanger NietzscheJan 30, 2023

@JohnLoader6 @igd_news

In the USA in many cities police are basically the default city employees for any problem. A lot of departments intentionally grabbed more responsibilities in order to grow their budgets as every other part of govt got defunded

But it's also truthfully meaningless to talk about "the police" in the USA. There are like 16,000 departments with their own budgets, policies, oversight, and relationships with community and government