Thousands of mourners have gathered for the funeral service of Tyre Nichols, who died last month three days after being beaten by five police officers. Vice President Kamala Harris is among those attending with Nichols’ family, who have described the pain at not being able to save his life. Speak ahead of the service in Memphis, which starts at 1pm local time (7pm UK), older brother Kamal Dupree said: “I’ve been fighting my whole life and the one fight I needed to be here for, I wasn’t here.
“My brother was the most peaceful person I’ve ever met in life.
“If my brother was here today and he had to say something, he’d tell us to do this peacefully.”
Nichols’ funeral service is being held five days after the city of Memphis released videos showing the police assault on him, which happened on January 7.
Since the video was released, the Memphis Police Department’s Scorpion unit, whose members included the five fired officers charged with second-degree murder, has been permanently deactivated.
Originally scheduled for 10am, the service at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church was rescheduled to 1pm due to weather conditions in the area.
Reverand Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at the funeral and attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Nichols family, will give a speech calling for action following Nichols’ death.
Nichols, 29, was a FedEx worker and father of one. He died on January 10 three days after being beaten by five police officers during a traffic stop close to his mother’s house.
Bodycam footage from the incident shows Nichols begging for his life shouting “I didn’t do anything”, as police force him to his knees.
Four separate videos were released by the Memphis Police Department with three from body worn cameras and the most revealing from a surveillance camera in the area.
In the footage from the initial traffic stop, officers can be heard shouting expletives and orders at Nichols for him to get out of the car and onto the ground.
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While he was laying flat on his stomach, an officer can be heard saying he is going to break Nichols’ arms.
Family members of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, victims of high-profile police killings in 2020 in Louisville and Minneapolis, are also in attendance.
Mourners gathered outside the church ahead of the funeral on Wednesday with signs reading: “Justice for Tyre Nichols.”
On Wednesday, activist and baptist Reverand Al Sharpton visited Memphis’ Lorraine Motel.
The site is best remembered as where Martin Luther King Jr delivered his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech the night before his assassination.
Sharpton wrote on Instagram: “As we kick off Black History Month and I prepare to eulogise 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.”
