tyre nichols ‘ Family and friends prepared him to rest during a funeral on Wednesday intended to celebrate his life after his death three weeks later brutal beating by memphis police This sparked nationwide protests and renewed calls for police reform.
In those three weeks, five police officers were fired and charged with murder. their the special unit was disbanded, two More officers have been suspended, Also dismissed: two Memphis Fire Department emergency medical personnel and a Lt. More discipline may come.
But Wednesday will be about Nichols, a 29-year-old skateboarder and amateur photographer who worked at FedEx making boxes, made friends during his morning trips to Starbucks, and always greeted his mother and stepfather when he returned home with a sunny , “Hello, parents!”
Nichols was the baby of their family, born 12 years after his closest siblings. His family said that he had a 4-year-old son and worked hard to improve himself as a father.
Nichols grew up in Sacramento, California and loved the San Francisco 49ers. He came to Memphis just before the coronavirus pandemic and got stuck. But he was okay with it because he was with his mother, Rowan Welles, and they were incredibly close, she said. He also got her name tattooed on his arm.
Friends at a memorial service last week described him as jovial and kind, quick with a smile, often goofy.
“This guy walked into a room, and everybody loved him,” said Angelina Paxton, a friend who traveled from California to Memphis for the memorial service.
Nichols’ funeral was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Central Time at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, its start delayed Snowy weather and travel delays, Founder and President of National Action Network, Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy. Ben Crump, a national civil rights attorney representing the Nichols family, will deliver the call to action.
Sharpton gathered Nichols’ family and local activists Tuesday evening at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis. The historic landmark is where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech the night before he was assassinated nearly 55 years ago.
Sharpton said the family intended to have “a dignified funeral service, not a marathon.”
“It’s not about politics, it’s about justice,” Sharpton said. “People are coming from all over the world, and we are coming because we are all Tire now.”
Those expected to attend include Vice President Kamala Harris; Tamika Palmer, mother of briona taylor, and Philonise Floyd, brother of george floyd,
Taylor’s death in Louisville, Kentucky, and Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minneapolis sparked nationwide protests against racial injustice.
The beating of Nichols, who was black, occurred after police stopped him for an alleged traffic violation. January 7th. Videos released after pressure from Nichols’ family show officers holding him down and repeatedly punching, kicking and hitting him with a baton. shouted for his mother.
Nichols’ death was the latest in a string of early accounts by police about their use of force, which later minimized or omitted mention of violent encounters.
