The Memphis police chief who is now tasked with investigating the killing of Tyre Nichols was previously fired from her job for dismissing allegations in a child pornography case.
Cerelyn ‘CJ’ Davis was kicked out of the Atlanta Police Department in 2008 for her role in the botched investigation of sergeant Tonya Crane’s husband Terrill Marion Crane – who later turned out to be guilty.
Two detectives on the case accused Davis – who was deputy chief at the time – of urging them not to dig into the claims against Crane after the unit received pictures of him with underage middle school girls.
Crane later pled guilty to one count of producing child pornography after the FBI took on the case – and blame then shifted on to Davis for taking a ‘blind eye’ on the child porn claims.
Despite her history as a careless investigator, Davis still became the first black female chief in Memphis in 2021 – one year after George Floyd was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Cerelyn ‘CJ’ Davis, the current chief of police in Memphis, was previously terminated from her position in the Atlanta Police Department in 2008
In Los Angeles, a small group of Antifa were seen smashing up businesses
From left, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith. The five former Memphis police officers have been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in the arrest and death of Tyre Nichols
Crane was indicted by a federal grand jury on the child pornography charges after Atlanta Police Department failed to take action on the case – and in 2009 he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years and one month in jail.
The FBI blasted Atlanta’s police force as ‘unforgiveable’ at the time for allowing the child abuse – which involved at least 11 girls, some as young as middle school age – to go ‘unchecked.’
Attorney David E. Nahmias said: ‘This case goes back a number of years, which makes the list of victims longer and the facts of the case even more disturbing.
‘This defendant sexually exploited numerous young girls and that unforgivable criminal conduct went unchecked for years even after being brought to the attention of the Atlanta Police Department.’
Crane’s wife, who was a sergeant working with Davis, also admitted to ‘finding and burning’ some of the child porn photographs her husband had taken of the victims.
A follow-up investigation by the city then placed the blame squarely on Davis. She was demoted from major to lieutenant before ultimately being fired from the force in Atlanta.
She then challenged the decision before the city’s Civil Service Board, who reinstated her. But in 2016 she decided to retire herself from the Atlanta force.
Davis then took up a role as police chief in Durham, North Carolina – and had called for sweeping police reform, despite her previous botched job in Atlanta.
Protestors gathered at Washington Square Park in New York for a second night in a row of protest in the name of Tyre Nichols
She has now once again come under scrutiny following the actions of the five officers involved in the death of Nichols.
Protests have erupted across the US for a second night after brutal footage of the death of Nichols was released by Memphis police.
Protesters vandalized businesses in Los Angeles while others remained mostly peaceful in New York City, Washington DC, Memphis and other cities.
Demonstrators gathered during a protest in Times Square on Saturday in New York
Protestors marched up Sixth Avenue in New York on their way to Times Square
Security forces take measures as people protest against the police assault of Tyre Nichols in New York
A demonstrator chants during a protest Saturday in New York, in response to the death of Tyre Nichols
Protestors held signs calling for an end to the deaths of black people at the hands of police
One protestor held a sign stating ‘End Police Terror’ following Tyre Nichols’ death
For the second night in a row, New Yorkers took to the streets in the name of Tyre Nichols, turning their sadness into strength
Protestors gather at Washington square park for the second evening of protests
A protest that began at 5pm Saturday in Washington Square Park grew to 200 people
Vandals with Antifa spray painted insulting message towards police officers
It what was a second night of rioting following the release of the Nichols police video in LA
A small group of protesters demanded reforms from police following the beating death of Tyre Nichols in Washington, D.C. on Saturday
Cities across the US saw renewed nonviolent demonstrations on Saturday. In Memphis, protesters chanting, ‘Whose streets? Our streets!’ angrily catcalled a police car that was monitoring the march, with several making obscene gestures.
Hundreds gathered in New York City’s Washington Square Park before marching through Manhattan, as columns of police officers walked alongside them.
In Los Angeles, a small group of Antifa were seen smashing up businesses in what was a second night of rioting following the release of the Nichols police video.
Protesters in downtown Atlanta repeated Nichols’ name and demanded justice. Around 40 people gathered in front of Philadelphia’s City Hall to protest the killing.
New York City police officers stand guard at a protest after the release of video footage on Friday showing the encounter earlier this month between Tyre Nichols, 29, and five Memphis police officers
A protester holds a placard that says ‘stop killing black people’ as protestors gather at Washington Square Park for a second night in a row
A protester holds a placard that says ‘What have we allowed ourselves to become’ during the demonstration
Activist Nupol Kiazolu calls to abolish the police and blames White Supremacy
An activist speaks as protestors gathered at Washington Square Park on Saturday evening
A protester holds a skateboard that says ‘Tyre Nichols’ and ‘abolish the police’ as protestors gathered at Washington Square Park
People take part in a march against police brutality at Times Square on Saturday
Hundreds gathered during the protest in the heart of Times Square on Saturday night
People take part in a march against police brutality on January 28, 2023 in New York City
Demonstrators are pictured walking through the streets of Greenwich Village as they marched uptown
Protestors are seen gathered on the glass steps of Times Square
The marchers paraded along 42nd Street in Manhattan as they approached Times Square
The marchers walked the few miles from Washington Square Park up to Times Square
More than 80 people marched in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday afternoon to protest the fatal beating.
‘How many more are going to die?’ Tim Emry asked fellow demonstrators who’d gathered outside the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.
‘Do we stand up when Black kills Black?’ asked Melissa Funderburk, a longtime community organizer in Charlotte said to the Charlotte Observer.
‘It doesn’t matter that it was Black skin in the blue. The point is a mother is crying. It’s not OK for them to be killing Black men and women.’
On Saturday, Davis disbanded the city’s so-called Scorpion unit citing a ‘cloud of dishonor’ from videos that showed some of its officers beating Tyre Nichols to death after stopping the black motorist.
Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr., center, marches with local activists demanding justice for Tyre Nichols on Saturday
Towanna Murphy holds up her fist during a march for Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police during a traffic stop, in Memphis, on Saturday
Protesters marched on Saturday over the death of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten
Protesters march in front of a police car on Saturday in Memphis
Porchse Miller, left, wipes a tear from her face during a protest, Saturday, in Atlanta
Nakia Harrison, left, along with her children Darius, Devonte, and Daniel Smith, attend a rally in Memphis on Saturday
Davis acted a day after the harrowing video emerged, saying she listened to Nichols’ relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.
Her announcement came as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with the violence of the officers, who are also black.
Scorpion stands for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods.
The video renewed doubts about why fatal encounters with law enforcement keep happening despite repeated calls for change.
Protestors marching though downtown Memphis cheered when they heard the unit had been dissolved. One protestor said over a bullhorn that ‘the unit that killed Tyre has been permanently disbanded.’
Demonstrators picket outside of LAPD headquarters Saturday in Los Angeles during a protest
Pastor Stephen Jn-Marie speaks to a crowd of protestors Saturday, outside of the LAPD HQ
A demonstrator holds his fist up while picketing outside of LAPD headquarters on Saturday
Referring to ‘the heinous actions of a few’ that dishonored the unit, Davis contradicted an earlier statement that she would keep the unit. She said it was imperative that the department ‘take proactive steps in the healing process.’
‘It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit,’ she said in a statement. She said the officers currently assigned to it agreed ‘unreservedly.’
The unit is composed of three teams of about 30 officers whose stated aim is to target violent offenders in areas beset by high crime.
It had been inactive since Nichols’ January 7 arrest.
Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, lawyers for the Nichols family, said the move was ‘a decent and just decision.’
‘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 so much further,’ they said.
The five disgraced officers – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith – have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols´ death, which came three days after the arrest. They face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.
The image from video released on Friday shows Tyre Nichols during a brutal attack by five Memphis police officers
People gather to protest against the police violence following the killing of Tyree Nichols in Charlotte North Carolina
Marching peacefully down the middle of Fourth Street, in Charlotte, North Carolina protesters broke out in chants
People gather to protest the killing of Tyree Nichols in Philadelphia, outside City Hall
People protest in Downtown Memphis after the death of Tyre Nichols who was beaten to death
Protestors in Memphis, Tennessee are seen marching on Saturday
A few hundred people took to the streets in Memphis in a second day of peaceful demos
Amber Sherman and other people take part in a protest in Memphis after the release of the body cam footage showing police officers beating Tyre Nichols
The videos released Friday show police savagely beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes while screaming profanities at him in an assault that the Nichols family legal team has likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps.
The video also left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as Nichols lay motionless on the pavement.
Cities nationwide had braced for demonstrations after the video emerged, but protests were scattered and nonviolent.
Several dozen demonstrators in Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River toward Arkansas.
Protesters also blocked traffic in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.
Memphis PD will permanently SCRAP ‘Scorpion’ unit behind Tyre Nichols’ killing just two years after it was formed to tackle city’s most serious violent crime
by Harriet Alexander & Keith Griffith
Memphis Police Department has said it will permanently abolish its Scorpion unit after several members were involved in the traffic stop that killed Tyre Nichols.
The elite unit was created to combat soaring violent crime, but critics say its aggressive tactics and lack of oversight are a recipe for tragedies like the fatal beating of the 29-year-old.
The decision came after Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn ‘CJ’ Davis met with members of the unit on Saturday ‘to discuss the path forward for the department and the community in the aftermath of the tragic death of Tyre Nichols.’
Officials came to the conclusion it was ‘in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION Unit,’ the statement read.
Scorpion officers agreed ‘unreservedly’ with the decision, the department later added.
An officer involved in the fatal traffic stop of Tyre Nichols is seen wearing a hoodie of the MPD’s Organized Crime Unit, of which SCORPION is a part
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nichols’ family, said such units can turn into ‘a pack of wolves’ and led calls for an end to the Scorpion unit.
‘We believe that this was a pattern and practice, and Tyre is dead because that pattern and practice went unchecked by the people who were supposed to check that,’ Crump said at a press conference on Friday.
Five officers have been charged with second-degree murder in Nichols’ death, though it was unclear how many of them were part of the Scorpion unit, and MPD has not released that information.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nichols’ family, said street crime units such as SCORPION can turn into ‘a pack of wolves’ and called to disband the unit
The newly released footage of the initial traffic stop that led to Nichols’ death shows cops in the unmarked Dodge Chargers favored by the unit, wearing hoodies with the logo of the Organized Crime Unit, of which SCORPION is a part.
Founded in October 2021 due to pressure over rising crime, SCORPION, stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods. Its mandate is to stem homicides, assaults and robberies.
Memphis officials have said the unit comprises about 40 officers in four teams concentrating on crime hot spots.
Each team has members focused on car theft, gang investigations and ‘crime suppression,’ Mayor Jim Strickland said in a speech in January 2022.
A 2021 video about the unit’s launch showed several dozen officers, mostly men, going through roll call before heading on patrols. Some wore plain clothes and drove unmarked cars.
In its first few months of existence, between October 2021 and January 23, 2022, SCORPION made 566 arrests.
Cops are seen next to the type of unmarked Dodge Charger favored by SCORPION teams, following the January 7 beating of Tyre Nichols after a traffic stop
Founded in October 2021 due to pressure over rising crime, SCORPION, stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods
Of those, 390 were felony arrests, according to Strickland. Officers seized tens of thousands of dollars and over 250 weapons, the mayor said.
However, there have been prior complaints over SCORPION’s alleged heavy-handed tactics.
Cornell McKinney told WREG-TV the same SCORPION team involved in Nichols’ death stopped him on January 3, four days before the fatal Nichols beating.
‘All I heard is a: ‘Freeze, get out the car. Put your MF hands up before I blow your heads off. Both of you get out the car. Put your hands up,” he said, recalling the incident, which occurred as he was catching a ride home with a friend.
‘So I put my hands up, and one of the officers proceeded to come to the car, and he physically pulled me out by my shoulder with a gun no more than a foot away from my head,’ said McKinney.
McKinney said the cops accused them of having drugs in the car, demanding to know which of the two friends owned the drugs.
But he says the cops then admitted they hadn’t found any drugs and let the two men walk free.
Later, seeing the officers charged in Nichols’ death, he recognized the faces as the same cops that had pulled him over.
The five cops – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr, and Justin Smith – have since been fired and charged with second-degree murder.
Charged with second degree murder are (top, left to right) Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and (bottom, left to right) Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith
Tyre Nichols is pictured in hospital after the incident. The 29-year-old from Memphis died on January 10 from cardiac arrest and kidney failure, three days after he was pulled over for reckless driving by police in unmarked cars
One former veteran Memphis police officer who said he knew each of the charged ex-cops, told CBS News that ‘you have to be a go-getter, for the most part’ to join the SCORPION unit.
‘You have to be someone who wants to make a difference, who wants to catch the bad guy,’ he said of the ‘proactive’ mindset of the unit.
‘I never thought this would happen,’ added the former officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Because at least some of the officers charged with murdering Nichols belonged to SCORPION, questions have arisen over whether they were acting as part of the unit when they pulled him over for purported reckless driving.
Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, died in the hospital three days after the violent January 7 physical confrontation with the five black officers.
The five officers have since been charged with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression and fired from their jobs.
The Nichols case has raised concerns that the unit strayed from its core mission, had inadequate oversight and used tactics that increased the risk of violence.
Crump, the attorney for Nichols’ family, pointed out that Nichols’ encounter with police began with a traffic stop, which does not fall under the unit’s mandate to address violent crime
Crump, the attorney for Nichols’ family, pointed out that Nichols’ encounter with police began with a traffic stop, which does not fall under the unit’s mandate to address violent crime.
Critics say such stops are excuses to search for weapons or drugs and can escalate into violence.
It is not the fist time such units have faced scrutiny.
In 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd, New York City dismantled its Anti-Crime Unit, which operated with similar tactics and goals as SCORPION.
Last January, amid soaring violent crime, the Anti-Crime Unit was restricted weeks after Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, took office vowing to get tough on crime.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis this week announced a review of all of the police department’s specialized units including SCORPION in response to Nichols’ death. She called the incident ‘heinous, reckless and inhumane.’