Pittsburgh acting police chief, Public Safety director call Tyre Nichols' death 'a violent, inexcusable failure'
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pittsburgh's acting police chief and Public Safety director released a statement after Tyre Nichols' death, calling his arrest "a violent, inexcusable failure by the officers involved."
In a joint statement released Monday afternoon, Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt and Acting Police Chief Thomas Stangrecki applauded the "swift action" to charge the officers and said it "sets an important precedent" for police accountability.
Schmidt and Stangrecki said Pittsburgh police do not have a unit similar to Memphis' SCORPION unit, which was permanently deactivated the day after the video of Nichols' release was arrested.
SCORPION, or Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, included more than two dozen officers tasked with taking on street crime. The unit patrolled in groups and at times used low-level traffic stops as a way to find violent criminals, drugs or weapons, according to the Memphis department.
"The PBP does not have a street unit like SCORPION, which operated in a capacity to target 'hotspot' areas. Such a unit will not have a place in the policies or philosophy of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police," Schmidt and Stangrecki said.
Their statement also thanked those who have gathered to exercise their right to protest peacefully and said their hearts are with Nichols' family and community.
"We continue our commitment to ensure fair, community-based policing, based in transparency and dignity for those we serve," the statement said.
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said in a statement on Saturday that Nichols' death "makes it clear" that work to change the culture of policing is "critical" for the city and country.
