Mark LeSure, a former Memphis police sergeant who retired in 2021, said he began to see a large number of relatively inexperienced officers’ being put on specialized units as a lot of the police force started leaving in recent years. Such units did not have enough senior staff members training the new officers, he said, adding that that was concerning to him.
“Rookies were getting put on specialized units where they had no business being,” he said.
LeSure said former colleagues still at the department have told him that the Scorpion unit, which launched after he retired, is known for having a “zero tolerance” policy on crime — which he said meant the officers “do what they can to arrest people.”
The officers charged in Nichols’ death were hired from 2017 to 2020. They are 24 to 32 years old.
