As more is revealed about the dangerous officers who killed Tyre Nichols, one Army vet says he barely escaped the “Scorpion Unit.”
Memphis resident Monterrious Harris is still dealing with the January 4th experience that scarred him physically and emotionally. Per a lawsuit filed earlier this month, the unarmed man was inside his vehicle waiting for a family member when several masked and armed men surrounded his car. They swiftly began yelling threats towards the unsuspecting citizen, vowing to kill him if he didn’t step out of the vehicle. Fearing they were carjackers, Harris initially tried to flee, putting the car in reverse, and hitting an object behind him, which left him unable to drive away. Forced to comply, he got out with his hands raised, hoping that the men would just take his car and leave.
“Get out the car, or I’m going to shoot,” Harris recalled the officers during an interview with NBC News.
However, he soon realized that the men were Memphis Police Officers, part of the fearsome “Scorpion Unit.” They proceeded to savagely beat him. By the time he was taken to jail on several unfounded charges, his injuries were severe.
Harris could barely walk into the station, as he’d been left with a large wound on his left leg and bruises on his right from being stomped and kicked. A severe head injury caused the jail nurse to demand he be taken to the hospital. The vicious assault occurred just three days before the same officers beat Tyre Nichols to death for no reason.
Now fired officers Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley, and Tadarrius Bean were all identified in Harris’ lawsuit as the deviants who carried out the attack. These are the same officers who’ve been charged with second-degree murder in Nichols’ death. They’ve all pleaded not guilty.
Harris is seeking $5 million in damages and a jury trial.
