The 29-year-old died on January 10, three days after his arrest by a special unit in Memphis.
SourceAFP
© TAYFUN COSKUN / ANADOLU AGENCY / Anadolu Agency via AFP
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Lhe funeral of African-American Tire Nichols, whose fatal beating by black police officers shocked the United States, is being held on Wednesday 1er February in the city of Memphis, in the presence of Vice President Kamala Harris. The ceremony promises to be political, the lawyer for the family of Tire Nichols, Ben Crump, having to launch “a call to act” against police violence.
Strong symbol, a brother of George Floyd, black forties whose death in 2020 under the knee of a white policeman had triggered massive anti-racist demonstrations, will attend the funeral. It is the Reverend Al Sharpton, a figure in the fight for civil rights, who will deliver the funeral oration at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church. The service is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. local time (5:30 p.m. Paris time).
Tire Nichols, 29, was arrested on January 7 by officers from a special unit in Memphis, in the southern United States, for a simple traffic violation, according to the police. But beaten so badly that he became unrecognizable according to his family, he died three days later in hospital.
READ ALSODeath of Tire Nichols in Memphis: the thorny question of race
The images of the arrest broadcast by the major channels
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on the phone Tuesday with Tyre Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, and stepfather Rodney Wells, who invited her to the funeral, according to their attorney. In a phone call he described as “emotional,” “the VP was able to comfort Row Vaughn Wells and even help him smile,” Ben Crump, who also represented the family, said. Floyd.
The harrowing footage of Tyre Nichols being arrested and beaten by officers was shown last week, without cuts, by the country’s biggest channels.
The five police officers involved were fired and charged with murder. The “Scorpion Unit” to which they belonged, and which had the mission of reducing the number of illegal activities in sensitive neighborhoods by deploying more police there, was dismantled. Three firefighters were dismissed in connection with the facts and two other police officers suspended. During the arrest, “no one showed humanity towards Tire Nichols, and those responsible must be held to account,” said Ben Crump.