(Daily Mail) The top cop behind the SCORPION unit – disbanded after its officers were charged in the death of Tyre Nichols – previously led another controversial unit that too was shut down.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis launched the ‘elite’ team SCORPION unit in 2021, which was made up of 40 officers.
But the unit was deactivated after three of them were involved in the violent beating and death of Tyre Nichols, 29, on January 7.
DailyMail.com can reveal Davis was previously in charge of the infamous REDDOG Unit while working at Atlanta Police, where she was also embroiled in a child pornography scandal.
It was disbanded over accusations of ‘excessive force’ and ‘police brutality’.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis led another controversial cop unit that was disbanded over accusations of ‘excessive force’ and ‘police brutality’
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis led another controversial cop unit that was disbanded over accusations of ‘excessive force’ and ‘police brutality’
She was previously in charge of the infamous REDDOG Unit while working at Atlanta Police before she was fired and then rehired
Davis boasts on her profile on the Memphis Police website that she was in charge of the ‘Special Operations Section’.
The REDDOG unit, which stands for ‘Running Every Drug Dealer Out of Georgia’, was one of at least 11 run by Davis when she was Commander.
It has many similarities to the SCORPION unit in Memphis – which was made up of 40 officers split into four teams who patrolled ‘high crime hotspots’ throughout the city.
REDDOG was disbanded in 2011 by Mayor Kasim Reed after officers raided a gay bar and used ‘excessive force’ – while others were accused of assaulting a man they pulled over in a traffic stop.
During the raid, those in the bar complained that they were treated with aggression and forced to lay on the floor for over an hour as officers swore and used racist and homophobic slurs.
The City of Atlanta settled a federal lawsuit with those affected by the raid in December 2010 for $1.025 million – which included reforms to APD’s operating procedures.
The SCORPION unit was deactivated after three of them were involved in the violent beating and death of Tyre Nichols, 29, on January 7
Activist Hunter Dempster says that it shouldn’t have taken the death of Tyre Nichols, pictured, for something to be done
Protestors say that Davis is just paying ‘lip service’ by disbanding the unit and the entire Organized Crime Unit needs an overhaul
Davis boasts on her profile on the Memphis police website that she was in charge of the ‘Special Operations Section’
It demanded that there should be no more illegal search and seizures and an internal investigation into all the officers involved.
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
At least ten complaints were formally lodged against the department alleging misconduct during the raid and turned over to the agency’s Office of Professional Standards, or internal affairs unit.
Activist Hunter Dempster, who is an organizer with Decarcerate Memphis, said that there were many similarities between the REDDOG squad and the SCORPION Unit.
He told DailyMail.com: ‘They are literally an oppression force. The trust between the citizens and the police in Memphis is about as bad as you could ever imagine in a Metropolitan city.
‘They are unchecked doom squads which can do whatever they want. Davis’ REDDOG unit was disbanded, so how are you going to take the same premise of a disbanded unit to your new job?
‘Davis is doing her best to say all the best social justice buzzwords and accountability – but she is just giving lip service and empty promises and trying to make herself look good.
REDDOG was disbanded in 2011 by Mayor Kasim Reed after officers raided a gay bar and used ‘excessive force’ – while others were accused of assaulting a man they pulled over in a traffic stop
Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmit Martin III, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith (L-R) were all seen beating and kicking the FedEx driver as he lay on the floor
At least 10 complaints were formally lodged against the department alleging misconduct during the raid and turned over to the agency’s Office of Professional Standards, or internal affairs unit
‘It shouldn’t take someone dying for something to happen. They are violent bullies who pull you over, wave a gun in your face and beat you up. The terrorize poor black and brown communities.
The REDDOG unit was created in 1987 and named after the football move of ‘blitzing’ a quarterback, with the intention to ‘pressure drug dealers, users and criminals associated with drug violence.’
Davis was promoted to Deputy Chief in 2014, after REDDOG was disbanded, and oversaw Strategy and Special Project Division.
The unit was also responsible for the death of Kathryn Johnston, 92, who was shot dead during a ‘no-knock’ raid in 2006.
Police officers from the Narcotics Unit – which was later rebranded – burst into her home and shot her five times after reports of drug dealing at the property.
It is unclear if she was in charge of the unit at the time in 2006, with three former police officers charged with voluntary manslaughter and making false statements.
