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Kamala Harris: "This violent act was not in pursuit of public safety"
“We are here to celebrate the life of Tyre Nichols… Mrs. Wells, Mr. Wells, you have been extraordinary in terms of your strength, your courage and your grace,” Harris said to Tyre Nichols’ parents in an address at the funeral.
“We mourn with you and the people of our country mourn with you… We have a mother and a father who mourned the life of a young man who should be here today. They have a grandson who now does not have a father…
When we look at this situation, this is a family that lost their son and their brother through an act of violence at the hands and feet of people who had been charged with keeping them safe…
“This violent act was not in pursuit of public safety… When we talk about public safety, let us understand what it means in its truest form. Tyre Nichols should have been safe…
We demand Congress pass the George Floyd Policing Act…Joe Biden will sign it… It is non-negotiable,” she added.
Reverend Al Sharpton has called on vice president Kamala Harris to share a few words at the funeral.
Reverend Al Sharpton has opened up his address by recognizing the families at the funeral who have lost their children to police brutality, including those of Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
Vice president Kamala Harris is seen greeting and joining the family of Tyre Nichols at the funeral.
Following a musical performance, a pictorial tribute to Tyre Nichols played to attendees at the funeral.
The tribute opened up with a quote from Nichols, who was an avid photographer. It said:
“My vision is to bring my viewers deep into what I am seeing through my eye and out through my lens.”
The tribute featured numerous photos of Nichols and his family, Nichols taking a mirror selfie, Nichols at a skatepark, sunsets that he has taken, as well as rallies that have emerged across the country since his death.
The full program of Tyre Nichols’ funeral has been released.
In addition to Reverend Al Sharpton’s eulogy, civil rights attorney Ben Crump will deliver a call to justice.
The funeral will also include several readings and musical selections.
The Mississippi Boulevard Celebration Choir is currently performing at Tyre Nichols’ funeral, singing “You Are My Strength,” a 2013 song American gospel musician William Henry Murphy III.
An excerpt of the lyrics is below:
“You are my strength
Strength like no other (strength like no other)
Strength like no other (like no other)
(And it reaches) reaches to me
(One more time, sing it without the music this time)”
The funeral of Tyre Nichols has started. Follow along as we bring you the latest updates.
Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, will also be attending Nichols’ funeral on Wednesday, CNN reports.
Carr, whose son died 2014 after police in Staten Island, New York put him in a chokehold, told the outlet that she is attending to “stand in solidarity with the family.”
“We know that the family needs all the support that they can get at this time. We know that they are over overwhelmed by the death of their son, as I was when it happened to me…And it’s so fresh for them, but for me, it just digs into old wound,” Carr told CNN.
“It’s not fair that we have to suffer at the hands of the police that are not doing their job and lose our children,” she added.
A white Memphis police officer’s belated suspension has raised questions surrounding Tyre Nichols’ case.
Adam Gabbatt and Gloria Oladipo report:
Questions have been raised over why Memphis police waited weeks to name a white police officer involved in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, as it emerged an unnamed seventh officer and three emergency responders have also been disciplined over the case.
Major Karen Rudolph of Memphis police announced on Monday that the white officer in question, Preston Hemphill, was placed on desk duty on 8 January, a day after Nichols – who is Black – was beaten by police and two days before he died…
Police had named and fired five Black officers on 20 January – all of whom have since been charged with murder over Nichols’s death – but waited to reveal Hemphill’s identity.
On Tuesday, the civil rights attorney representing Nichols’s family, Ben Crump, said video footage from the beating shows Hemphill pulling Nichols from his car before shocking the 29-year-old with a Taser stun gun.
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The city of Memphis has said that it will release all of the audio and video footage of the Tyre Nichols case.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Jennifer Sink, the chief legal officer of the City of Memphis said:
“The City is preparing to release these recordings publicly upon completion of the administrative investigation, which is expected to occur in the next few weeks…”
“Mr. Nichols’ family and attorneys have been afforded an opportunity to view the entirety of the audio and video footage privately until it can be released publicly,” she continued.
She added that a premature release of the audio and video could “compromise our administrative investigation.”
Ahead of Tyre Nichols’ funeral, Reverend Al Sharpton stopped by the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
“There must be greater value of Black lives in this country,” Sharpton tweeted about his visit.
As we kick off Black History Month and I prepare to eulogize Tyre Nichols later today, I wanted to come by the Lorraine Hotel where Dr. King was viciously killed to reflect. There must be greater value of Black lives in this country. pic.twitter.com/aR4j02HEh5
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) February 1, 2023Nichols’ funeral was initially scheduled to commence at 10:30am CT but has been delayed to 1pm due to weather conditions.
In a press release, funeral organizers said that “due to inclement weather and travel delays,” the funeral has been pushed back by a few hours.
The city in recent days has been struck by flurry of winter weather including snow and ice and sleet.
Memphis prepares for Tyre Nichols funeral service
The funeral of Tyre Nichols is expected to be held later today at 1pm local time in Memphis, Tennessee. Mourners will gather at Mississippi Boulevard Christian church where they will celebrate the life of Nichols, who was beaten by five Memphis police officers on 7 January and died later in hospital. Vice-president Kamala Harris is expected to attend, along with the Rev Al Sharpton, who will deliver a eulogy.
On Tuesday, Sharpton gathered alongside Nichols’ family at the Church of God in Christ in Memphis and said: “We are going to have a dignified funeral service, not a marathon, tomorrow, and let the family mourn and receive whatever messages and the vice president, but this is not about politics tomorrow – it’s about justice.”
Other expected attendees, the Associated Press reports, include Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor, and Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd – both of whom were killed by police brutality.
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