MEMPHIS, Tenn. —
Several protests were organized Saturday after the release of video footage showing five former Memphis police officers beating 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was released to the public Friday night.
Many who marched along the I-55 bridge Friday night also joined in for Saturday afternoon’s demonstration Downtown in front of Memphis Police headquarters.
In tribute to Tyre Nichols, hundreds of demonstrators united and demanded fundamental systemic change within the Memphis Police Department (MPD).
The crowd of demonstrators again made their voices heard by marching near MPD headquarters and down Poplar Avenue with one message: their cries for justice are just beginning.
Anndrianna Harville said she traveled all the way from Chicago in order “To protest for our rights and to get justice for our rights."
Memphis police announced Saturday they are permanently disbanding the SCORPION unit, to which the five MPD officers charged with Tyre Nichols' death were assigned.
Demonstrators said while this is a "victory," the changes they demand go beyond laws and protocol. The changes they seek extend to police culture, they said.
"I know this is not indicative of the whole police force," Dedrick Davis said. "The police are the first front line and if police can’t embrace that attitude of oneness and community; not just for black people, for everyone."
For this group, they say "final victory" requires several things, including transparency in traffic stop data records and protocol.
"Data transparency act passed within city council and the county commission," protest organizer Amber Sherman said. "We need the end to pretextual traffic stops entirely, and we need an end to these task forces. If they can disband this scorpion unit, they can disband the other two too.”