The Memphis police chief has disbanded the city’s so-called Scorpion unit, reversing an earlier statement that she would keep it intact and citing a “cloud of dishonour” from the officers who beat Tyre Nichols to death.

Police Director Cerelyn ‘CJ’ Davis on Sunday said she listened to Nichols’s relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision. Referring to “the heinous actions of a few” that dishonoured the unit, Davis said it was imperative that the department “take proactive steps in the healing process.”