Police violence condemned at Tire Nichols funeral

Attendees at the funeral of Tire Nichols, the African-American who died after a brutal police beating, condemned the institutional violence that took the life of “a good person (…) who left too soon.”

After hugging Nichols’ mother for a long time at the Memphis church where the tribute was held, US Vice President Kamala Harris lashed out at the black officers who beat him as he yelled for help.

“Didn’t I have the right to be sure?” Questioned the vice president. “Here is a family that lost their son and brother in a violent act” perpetrated by “persons in charge of protecting them,” and “this violent act was not intended to guarantee public safety,” she told the crowd.

Nichols was “a good person, a beautiful soul, a son, a father, a brother, a friend, a human being who left too early,” said the Rev. J. Lawrence Turner, in the opening speech of the event at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church. “But in the end we will win,” he added, referring to police violence that particularly affects black populations in the United States.

Another strong symbol, a brother of George Floyd – a black man who died of suffocation in 2020 under the knee of a white police officer, whose death started massive anti-racist demonstrations – was present.

There was also the mother of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American, shot dead by police in her Kentucky apartment in 2020, turned icon of the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

While Reverend Al Sharpton, a figure in the fight for civil rights, delivered the funeral oration.

Calvary

Nichols, 29, was arrested in Memphis on January 7 by members of a special police unit called Scorpion, who charged the man with a traffic violation.

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The police procedure was recorded in the cameras that are incorporated into the uniforms of the agents and in the public security cameras of the city.

The videos show how the agents punched, kicked, and beat the young man with batons, tear gas, and a stun gun. At no point is Nichols seen trying to attack the cops. He tries to run away and is caught. He died three days later.

Five of the police officers involved – all black – were fired and face murder charges.

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