US Vice President Kamala Harris attended the funeral for Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday, offering comfort to the family of the 29-year-old motorist who died three days after he was beaten by officers last month.
At the funeral, civil rights leaders and family members called for an end to recurring police violence against Black Americans. Talking about Tyre, his family members said that he was a young man who loved photography and skateboarding.
Addressing a congregation that included relatives of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, his family demanded justice for Tyre and the two African Americans whose deaths sparked protests in 2020.
“We cannot continue to let these people brutalize our kids,” said Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather.
VP Harris embraced Nichols’s mother, RowVaughn Wells at the ceremony.
“This is a family that lost their son and their brother through an act of violence at the hands and the feet of people who had been charged with keeping them safe,” Harris said. “Tyre Nichols should have been safe.” Harris promised to help pass federal legislation to reduce police misconduct.
Tyre succumbed to unspecified injuries on January 10, three days after being beaten by the police at a traffic stop. The Memphis Police Department fired five officers following the incident. They were charged last week with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and oppression.
Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is also representing the family, compared the videos of him being beaten to the 1991 beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles Police Department officers.
“It is appalling. It is deplorable. It is heinous. It is violent. It is troublesome on every level,” Crump had said earlier.
(With inputs from agencies)
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
