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
“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.
At White House briefing. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre: The president told Tyre Nichols’ family he would keep pushing Congress to send the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to his desk. “There is no substitute for federal legislation.” pic.twitter.com/lfiWG4kvQW
— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) February 1, 2023
The funeral service of Tyre Nichols has concluded with Nichols’ family exiting the ceremony first while other attendees stood and waited for their turn.
Flower arrangements were also removed.
Singers sang the 1964 song A Change Is Gonna Come by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, as well the 2009 song Oh How Precious by American gospel musician Kathy Taylor.
“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.
“The only thing that’s keeping me going is the fact that I really truly believe my son was sent here on an assignment from God and I guess now his assignment is done. He’s been taken home…”
“I want to thank all the community activists for being there for my family…the chief of police for acting swiftly, the district attorney, the state of Tennessee…I want to thank my lawyers…
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.”
Nichols’ stepfather Rodney Wells similarly called for justice for Tyre Nichols, saying, “We have to fight for justice. We cannot continue to let these people brutalize our kids…”
“What’s done in a dark will always come to the light, and the light of day is justice for Tyre, justice for all the families that have lost loved ones to brutality of police or anybody,” he added.
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One of Tyre Nichols’ sisters recited a poem she wrote at the funeral service called “I’m Just Trying To Go Home.”
“I’m just trying to go home.
Is that too much to ask?
I didn’t break any laws along this path.
I’ve skated across barriers designed to hold me back.
I’m just trying to go home where the love is loud and the smiles are warm like the sunsets that comfort me in the coldest of my storms.
I’m just trying to go home.
I hear the sirens,
I hear the flashing lights.
The directions are clear.
Black skin go left, blue skin go right.
I’m just trying to go home.
Don’t I deserve to feel safe?
Batons, badges, blue lights against my face.
I’m just trying to go home.
Does anyone hear the pain in my cry, the struggle in my breath?
God replied, ‘Come home my son, now you can rest.’”
Updated
Attorney Ben Crump said that Texas Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has pledged to introduce a Tyre Nichols clause to the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that seeks to combat police brutality and racial bias in policing.
Tyre Nichols and Breonna Taylor share same birthday
Tyre Nichols and Breonna Taylor were born on the same day and the same year – June 5, 1993 - civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in his address.
Crump asked the crowd of attendees to acknowledge Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor who was killed on March 13, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky by police during a botched raid.
“I want to acknowledge Tamika Palmer… I know you said it brought back so many memories and pain so if you would stand up so let us at least acknowledge Breonna Taylor’s mother,” Crump said as the crowd clapped and stood up.
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Ben Crump calls for "equal justice" as he delivers funeral remarks
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump calls for “equal justice” in his address at Tyre Nichols’ funeral.
“It really is a plea for justice…it is a plea for Tyre Nichols the son…for Tyre Nichols the brother…for Tyre Nichols the father but most of all, it is a plea for justice for Tyre Nichols the human being,” Crump said.
“Why couldn’t they see the humanity in Tyre?” Crump said of the five Memphis police officers who beat Nichols to death.
“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.’”
Updated
“All he wanted to do was get home,” Reverend Al Sharpton said of Tyre Nichols.
“Home is not just a physical location. Home is where you are at peace. Home is where you’re not vulnerable. Home is where everything is alright…
“He said, all I want to do is get home. I come to Memphis to say the reason I keep going is, all I’m trying to do is get home… I want to get where they can’t treat me with a double standard — I’m trying to get home. I want to get where they can’t call me names no more — I want to get home. I want to get where they can’t shoot and ask questions later — I’m trying to get home. Every black in America stands up every day trying to get home.”
“You don’t fight crime by becoming criminals yourself,” Reverend Al Sharpton said of the five Black police officers who beat Tyre Nichols to death.
“Why do they go ahead? Because they feel that there is no accountability. They feel that we are going to angry a day or to and then we’re going to go onto something else. But some of us do this everyday. Some of us believe…the dream has to come true. Some of us are going to fight…
I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but we won’t stop until we hold you accountable,” Sharpton said as he called for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to be passed.
“We’re not asking for anything special… we’re asking to be treated equal. And to be treated fair.”
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“In the city where they slayed the dreamer… what has happened to the dream?” Reverend Al Sharpton said, referring to Martin Luther King Jr who famously delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech.
“What is happening to the dream in the city where the dreamer laid down and shed his blood?” Sharpton said.
Reverend Al Sharpton calls 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 Reverend Al Sharpton who visited the Lorraine Hotel earlier this morning where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed 55 years ago.
“There’s nothing more insulting and offensive to those of us that fight to open doors that you walked through those doors and act like the folks we had to fight for to get you through them doors. You didn’t get on the Police Department by yourself. The police chief didn’t get there by herself. People had to march and go to jail, and some lost their lives to open the doors for you. And how dare you act like that sacrifice was for nothing,” Sharpton said.
Updated
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.
Updated
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.
@VP Kamala Harris joins the parents of Tyre Nichols here at the funeral in Memphis. #TyreNichols pic.twitter.com/SjQMAAdXnx
— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) February 1, 2023
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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.
Updated
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)”
Updated
The funeral of Tyre Nichols has started. Follow along as we bring you the latest updates.
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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.
Updated
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.
For the full story, click below:
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.”
Updated
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, 2023
Nichols’ 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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