Tyre Nichols remembered at Memphis funeral

Rev. Al Sharpton speaks alongside Benjamin Crump during a press conference following Tyre Nichols' funeral service on Wednesday.

In a press conference following the Celebration of Life service for Tyre Nichols, Rev. Al Sharpton continued his call for justice.

Sharpton, the founder of the National Action Network, echoed what many said during the service, calling on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. 

Some background: Originally introduced in 2020 and again in 2021, the legislation would set up a national registry of police misconduct to stop officers from evading consequences for their actions by moving to another jurisdiction.

It would ban racial and religious profiling by law enforcement at the federal, state and local levels, and it would overhaul qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that critics say shields law enforcement from accountability.

The bill twice cleared the House under Democratic control – in 2020 and 2021 – largely along party lines. But it never went anywhere in the Senate, even after Democrats won control in 2021, in part, because of disagreements about qualified immunity, which protects police officers from being sued in civil court.

The Celebration of Life service of Tyre Nichols has concluded.

The service, which was delayed due to weather, lasted a little over two hours. 

Flanked by Rev. Al Sharpton and her husband Rodney Wells, RowVaughn Wells speaks during the funeral service for her son Tyre Nichols on Wednesday.

RowVaughn Wells, Tyre Nichols’ mother, thanked people for attending the funeral, as well as people around the world for supporting her and her family and continuing to fight for justice.

“Tyre was a beautiful person and for this to happen to him is just unimaginable,” she said through tears during Nichols’ funeral service.

She called for action, specifically for passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, said the news of his stepson’s death was “very, very difficult” to hear, noting that it was “surrounded by lies, deceit, trying to cover it up.”

“But as they say, what’s done in the dark will always come to the light,” he said, thanking those who supported him and his wife.

Keyana Dixon speaks during the funeral service of her brother Tyre Nichols.

Tyre Nichols’ older sister, Keyana Dixon, paid homage to his life on Wednesday.

She recalled that they were 11 years apart, but that he was so special to her. “He loved me, and I loved him dearly,” she said.

“You know, being the oldest of three boys, I had to watch my brothers, take them places that I probably didn’t want to take them. Watch them at times when I didn’t want to watch them. But with Ty, I didn’t mind,” she recalled. “He never wanted anything but to watch cartoons and a big bowl of cereal. So it was pretty easy to watch him.”

Dixon described the moment she found out about Nichols’ tragic death.

“On the night of Jan. 7, my brother was robbed of his life, his passions and his talents, but not his light. When my mother called me and said my baby brother was gone, I lost my faith, I cried, I screamed at God asking, ‘How could he let this happen?’ And then my cries turned to anger and anger turned to deep sorrow. And a pain I never felt when those monsters murdered my baby brother. And left me completely heartbroken,” she said.

Another sister read a poem she wrote in memory of her brother 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 come from me in the coldest of my storms. I’m just trying to go home. I hear the sirens. I see 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, boots, bright 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,’” she read. 

CNN’s Jamiel Lynch contributed reporting to this post.

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Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the family of Tyre Nichols, said the indictment of the five Black police officers charged in Nichols’ death sets a precedent for similar cases in the future. 

The former officers were arrested within 20 days of Nichols’ deadly encounter. They each face charges including murder and kidnapping.

Benjamin Crump speaks during the funeral service for Tyre Nichols at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis on Wednesday.

Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Tyre Nichols’ family, said he is pushing for equal justice for Nichols as a human being, emphasizing that police should see the humanity in all people.

In the footage from his arrest, Crump said, “we don’t see the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit extend one ounce of humanity during that one hour and seven-minute video. As your neighbor, why couldn’t they see the humanity in Tyre?”

Speaking to Nichols’ family from the podium, Crump said while he can’t bring their loved one back, we can focus now on establishing his legacy, one of “equal justice.”

Rev. Al Sharpton delivers the eulogy for Tyre Nichols at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis on Wednesday.

Rev. Al Sharpton renewed calls for accountability when police officers use excessive force.

During his eulogy for Tyre Nichols on Wednesday, Sharpton referenced Nichols telling Memphis police officers that he didn’t do anything as they pulled him out of his car following a traffic stop.

He said people will continue to fight for justice and “won’t stop until we hold you accountable and change the system.”

“We understand that there is need to deal with crime, but you don’t fight crime by becoming criminals yourself,” Sharpton said. “You don’t stand up to thugs in the street becoming thugs yourself. You don’t fight gangs by becoming five armed men against an unarmed man. That ain’t the police, that’s punks.”

He called for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to pass in order to get police officers to “think twice” before “you beat Tyre Nichols” or “shoot at someone unarmed.”

Rev. Al Sharpton, delivering the eulogy for Tyre Nichols on Wednesday, called out the five Black police officers who were allegedly involved in his beating death.

Addressing Nichols’ parents, Sharpton spoke about why the death was so personal to him, putting it into the context of the struggle over the decades for civil rights in America.

He noted that Nichols was beaten not far away from where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lost his life. The civil rights leader was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis on April 4, 1968, after coming to the city to protest in support of Black striking sanitation workers.

He continued, “You ain’t in no New England state. You in Tennessee, where we had to fight for you. And you take that position? And do what we saw?”

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Rev. Al Sharpton delivers the eulogy.

Delivering the eulogy for Tyre Nichols, civl rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton asked the families of other Black people killed by police who were in attendance to stand in support of the family of Nichols. 

Sharpton called out the families of George Floyd, Botham Jean, Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor. 

Sharpton also recognized former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Texas Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee, Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen and Vice President Kamala Harris, who are all in attendance at the service. 

Remember: Both Floyd and Taylor’s deaths prompted calls for police reform and sparked protests. In March 2020, Breonna Taylor was killed in a botched police raid at her apartment.

George Floyd died at the hands of police two weeks after Taylor’s death gained national attention. Video camera footage showed one officer — in an effort to restrain Floyd — knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.

Tyre Nichols is being remembered during a funeral service on Wednesday at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. 

Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy and Vice President Kamala Harris told Nichols’ family that Americans “mourn with you.” She used her remarks to also call on Congress to pass police reform legislation, saying she hoped Nichols’ passing might “shine a light on the path toward peace and justice.” 

Here’s a look at some photos so far from the service:

Vice President Kamala Harris hugs Tyre Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells.

Rev. Al Sharpton speaks during the funeral service.

Spike Lee attends the funeral service.

The funeral service was held at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis.

Tyre Nichols' casket is seen during the service.

Flanked by Rev. Al Sharpton and her husband Rodney Wells, RowVaughn Wells speaks during the funeral service.

Mourners arrive for the funeral service.

Musicians perform at the beginning of the funeral service.

Dan Beazley and Tristan Strickland traveled 12 hours in an ice storm from Northville, Michigan, with a 10-foot-tall wooden cross for Nichols' funeral.