Closing Summary
It’s slightly 4pm in Memphis and the funeral of Tyre Nichols has concluded. Here are some key moments that happened:
Reverend Al Sharpton called out the five Black police officers that beat Tyre Nichols to death. “The reason…[why] what happened to Tyre is so personal to me, it was that five Black men that wouldn’t have had a job in the police department, would not ever be thought of to be in elite squad…in the city that Dr. King lost his life…you beat a brother to death,” said Sharpton who visited the Lorraine Hotel earlier this morning where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed 55 years ago.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump calls for “equal justice” in his address at Tyre Nichols’ funeral. “We have to make sure they see us as human beings and once we acknowledge that we are human beings worthy of respect and justice, then we have have the God given right to say ‘I am a human being and I deserve justice not just any justice but equal justice,’” he said.
“Tyre was a beautiful person and for this to happen to him is just unimaginable,” said Tyre Nichols mother RowVaughn Wells as she wept at the podium while delivering her address. “I just need…that George Floyd bill…passed. We need to take some action because there should be no other child that should suffer the way and all the other parents here that lost their children. We need to get that bill passed because if we don’t, the next child that dies, their blood is going to be on their hands,” she said.
“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,” vice president Harris said to Tyre Nichols’ parents in an address at the funeral. “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.
The families of other victims of police brutality showed up to the funeral. Those include the family members of George Floyd, Eric Garner, and Breonna Taylor, among others.
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.
“There is no substitute for federal legislation,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said as she told reporters on Thursday that president Joe Biden will continue urging Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would combat police brutality, racial profiling and excessive force by police officers.
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…”
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we wrap up the blog for the day. Thank you for following along.
Activists, preachers, politicians and the families of victims of police brutality gathered at Tyre Nichols’ funeral in Memphis, Tennessee on Wednesday.
A man arranges flowers around Tyre Nichols' casket at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Photograph: Reuters
Flowers sit atop Tyre Nichols' casket during his funeral service at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Photograph: Reuters
