Aftermath of Tyre Nichol’s death
Ronan Killion
Staff Writer
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Tyre Nichols’s mother calls for the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” to be passed.
On January 27, 2023, footage from a police body camera was released which showed the vicious confrontation with Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old father, driving home. The footage shows the five police officers dragging Nichols out of his car and beating him. Nichols was hospitalized and died three days later.
Protests broke out across the country calling for the end of police brutality. The police officers who stopped Nichols were all fired and facing charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping.Their unit, SCORPION, which stands for “Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods' ' , was disbanded. The two EMTs and a fire lieutenant who responded to the scene have also been fired for “[failing] to conduct an adequate patient assessment of Mr. Nichols.”
Nichol’s funeral was held this Wednesday, where prominent figures like Reverend Al Sharpton and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke. Al Sharpton, a civil rig ts leader and preacher, gave Nichol’s eulogy, where he highlighted the parallels between Nichol’s and the biblical figure Joseph; as well as making references to Dr. Martin Luther King. He finished his speech off by calling for criminal justice reform and the end for racist policing. Vice President Harris and Nichols’ family also gave speeches commemorating Tyre’s life and calling for the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” to be passed into law.