Tyre Nichols funeral – update: VP Harris to attend funeral as prosecutors weigh more charges against Memphis officers

Tyre Nichols’ funeral begins at 10:30 this morning in Memphis. central time, where Vice President Kamala Harris will join civil rights leaders and families of black Americans killed by police.

Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother, and Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, are expected to attend the service at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis.

Ms. Harris will also be joined by former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the president’s senior adviser on public engagement, and Mitch Landrieu, the White House’s senior adviser and coordinator of infrastructure implementation and former mayor of New Orleans, Harris’ press secretary Kirsten Allen said. .

Five black officers were fired and charged in Nichols’ Jan. 7 shooting. beating and subsequent death. A video of the beating released last week shows that many more people did not help Nichols, who was also black, than the five officers charged in his death.

Two other Memphis police officers have been disciplined and three EMS workers have been fired in connection with Nichols’ death, officials said Monday. Officer Preston Hemphill, who is white, and another officer, whose name has not been released, have been suspended, police said.

“The police are partisan actors, like all other actors in power,” he writes The Independent.Josh Marcus reflects on his background in policing and criminal justice in a sobering column. “It is very important to take their statements with a grain of salt.

The nearly hour-long video footage of Memphis police officers using pepper spray, batons, punches, kicking and punching helped lead to swift murder charges against Tyre Nichols. my colleague Bevan Hurley explains the horror captured in four separate videos:

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus will meet at the White House to revive national police reform legislation that has stalled in 2021. after the killing of George Floyd.

U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, who leads the CBC, said in a statement Sunday that caucus members had requested a meeting with the president “to advance negotiations on much-needed national reforms to our justice system — specifically the actions and conduct of the president.” our law enforcement.”

The White House confirmed the group would meet on Thursday.

The Independent.Andrew Feinberg has more from Washington:

The funeral for Tyre Nichols begins this morning in Memphis, where Vice President Kamala Harris will join civil rights leaders and families of black Americans killed by police.

Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother, and Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, are expected to attend the service at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis.

The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy, and civil rights attorney Ben Crump is also expected to deliver remarks as a “call to action” after Nichols’ death and the police killings of black Americans that have sparked an international demand to end police violence. .

Crump, who represents the Nichols family, said in a statement that the vice president accepted an invitation from Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, and stepfather, Rodney Wells, to attend the service.

According to Crump, they spoke for more than 30 minutes “about the tragic loss of Tyr.”

“Vice President Harris and Ms. Wells had an exceptional conversation, and during this emotional time, the Vice President was able to comfort Ms. Wells and even help her smile,” he added. “Mr. and Mrs. Wells are grateful for Vice President Harris reaching out to them at this heartbreaking time and for her sensitivity in making the call.

The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. central time.

Jim Jordan says no amount of law or police reform could have prevented the “evil” that led to the fatal beating of Tire Nichols. Speaking on NBC Meet the pressthe congressman said the officers involved in the attack lacked respect for human life.

He said he was “not aware of any law, training, reform” that would have changed the actions of the men involved.

“I don’t think these five guys represent the vast majority of law enforcement, but I don’t know if there’s anything we can do to stop this kind of evil,” he said.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said Tuesday that prosecutors may seek more criminal charges against police officers and others involved in the fatal beating of Nichols after mounting criticism of the handling of the case by Mulroy’s office and the Memphis Police Department. the case.

The five officers, all black, were charged last week with second-degree murder and fired. The department confirmed Monday that a sixth officer, Preston Hemphill, died shortly after Jan. 7. was suspended for the attack but was not charged.

After footage of the fatal encounter with police was released Friday, local police and prosecutors are calling for more clarity on the circumstances of the incident, as initial police reports do not match what was seen on video.

On the eve of the funeral of Tyre Nichols, who died days after being brutally beaten by Memphis police officers just minutes from his home, his family shared memories and expressed their grief.

Nichols’ older brother, Jamal Dupree, lamented that he didn’t want to save his brother from being attacked by the fists and kicks of five officers charged with second-degree murder and other crimes.

“I’ve been fighting my whole life and the one fight I was supposed to be here for, I wasn’t here,” Dupree said, adding that violence was against his brother’s nature. “My brother was the most peaceful person I’ve ever had. ever met in my life,” he said. “If my brother was here today and had something to say, he would tell us to do it peacefully.”

The family met with the Rev. Al Sharpton Tuesday night at the historic Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his final speech the night before he was assassinated, to talk about Nichols and the latest developments in the case.