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"We love you, Tire": the young man who died after a police beating is fired in Memphis

2023-02-01T21:29:42.578Z


At an emotional mass funeral, the vice president urges Congress to pass police reform. “They stole her life, her passions and talent, but not her light,” says her sister.


Tire Nichols' family and friends gathered this Wednesday at a funeral to celebrate his life, three weeks after he died after a brutal beating by several Memphis (Tennessee) police officers.

At the event, in which hundreds of people participated, the vice president, Kamala Harris, who was received with a standing ovation, urged Congress to approve a police reform that ends cases of violence and mitigates systemic racism.

“This violent act was not in pursuit of public safety,” Harris said.

"Didn't he also have the right to be safe?" She wondered, "Tyre Nichols should have been safe," the vice president condemned.

As the funeral began, a group of singers and drummers playing African instruments made their way to the entrance of the church, where Nichols's black coffin was draped in a large bouquet of white flowers.

"We love you, Tyre," praised the attendees.

A sister of Tire Nichols described her "anger" and "deep grief" at the loss.

“They stole her life, her passions and her talent, but not her light

,” Keyana Dixon said.

"I see the world showing him love and fighting for his justice, but all I want is my little brother back," she lamented through tears.

Dixon explained that when she heard the news of her brother's murder, she cried and lost her faith, then was filled with "anger," "deep sadness" and "pain that I never felt, when those monsters murdered my little brother."

"My family will never be the same, and I will always love my little brother, forever," she concluded.

Harris, during the funeral for Tire Nichols at the Mississippi Boulevard church in Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 1. Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean via AP, Pool

The Mississippi Boulevard Celebration Choir sang the popular gospel cult song,

You Are My Strength

,

as

the Nichols family, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the family's lawyer, Ben Crump, listened with a church full of mourners. .

[Two men claim that one of the Memphis police officers accused of killing Tire Nichols pointed a gun at them]

The Rev. J. Lawrence Turner called Nichols “a good person, a beautiful soul, a son, a father, a brother, a friend, a human being” who had left too soon and was “denied his rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, was denied the dignity of his humanity, was denied the right to watch the sun go down another day, to hug his mother, to go out with his friends, to hug his son and the right to grow old”.

They reveal the "appalling" video of the beating that five police officers gave Tire Nichols

Jan 28, 202306:03

Tiffany Rachal, mother of Jalen Randle, fatally shot by a Houston police officer in 2022, sang a version of the gospel classic Total Praise to applause from parishioners and the Nichols family.

“All the mothers in the world have to come together, have to come together to stop all this,” Rachal said.

Tire Nichols being pepper-sprayed during his arrest on January 7, in a police body camera capture.

MEMPHIS POLICE DEPARTMENT / via REUTERS

A montage of photos of Nichols and images of the protests that followed the news of his death were projected on giant screens.

In the three weeks since Nichols' death, five police officers have been fired and charged with murder.

His specialized unit was disbanded.

Two other officers have been suspended.

Two Memphis Fire Department EMS workers and a lieutenant were also fired.

But Wednesday was the talk of Nichols, a 29-year-old skateboarder and hobbyist photographer who worked boxing at FedEx, made friends during his morning visits to Starbucks and always greeted his mother and stepfather when he came home: “Hello, parents! !”.

The Celebration Choir performs during the funeral service for Tire Nichols at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church on February 1, 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee. Andrew Nelles/Pool via Getty Images

Nichols was the youngest of the family, born 12 years after his closest brothers.

He had a 4-year-old son and was striving to excel as a father,

according to his family.

He grew up in Sacramento, California, and loved the San Francisco 49ers.

He arrived in Memphis just before the coronavirus pandemic and got stuck.

But he was fine with her because he was with his mother, RowVaughn Wells, and they were incredibly close, she said.

She even had her name tattooed on her arm.

Friends who attended the funeral last week described him as cheerful and kind, with a quick smile and often goofing around.

“This man would walk into a room and everyone would love him,” said Angelina Paxton, a friend who traveled to Memphis from California for the funeral.

Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, delivered the eulogy at the funeral and Crump, a national civil rights lawyer representing the Nichols family, will deliver a call to action.

The start of the service at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church was delayed for hours due to freezing weather and traffic hazards.

The funeral program included some scenic photos taken by Nichols.

Tamika Palmer, mother of Breonna Taylor, and Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, also attended.

The deaths of Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky and Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police sparked protests across the country.

Tire Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, listens as the Rev. Al Sharpton speaks in Memphis on January 31. Seth Herald / AFP - Getty Images

The beating of Nichols, who was black, came after he was pulled over by police for an alleged traffic violation on January 7.

Video released after pressure from Nichols' family shows officers (all five who have been charged with second-degree murder were also black) holding him down and repeatedly punching, kicking and hitting him with their batons as he screamed for his mother. .

Nichols' death was the latest in a series of initial statements by police about their use of force that were later shown to have downplayed or omitted mention of violent encounters.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2023-02-01

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