The parents of Tyre Nichols have accepted an invitation to attend the State of the Union speech delivered by President Biden on Tuesday.
The mother and stepfather of Nichols will be guests of the Congressional Black Caucus, which is also requesting a meeting with President Biden in response to the 29-year-violent old’s beating and subsequent murder.
Horsford stated that he met with the family on Sunday “to extend our condolences, let them know that we stand with them, and to ask them what they need from us at this time.”
As a result of Tyre Nichols’s death, the attorney for his family has urged Congress to approve chokehold-prohibiting police reform legislation quickly.
The parents of Tyre Nichols have accepted an invitation to next Tuesday’s State of the Union speech by President Biden.
Rep. Steven Horsford stated that his caucus would reach out to Sen. Tim Scott, the South Carolina black Republican who led the unsuccessful police reform negotiations the last time around.
Horsford stated that the purpose of bringing the family to Biden’s high-profile annual address is to ensure that the President is aware that this is an issue worthy of discussion at the State of the Union.
Biden stated in a statement on Friday, ‘Like so many others, I was horrified and terribly pained to watch the awful footage of the beating that led in Nichols’ death.’
With two years remaining in his administration, the president will use his address to Congress to set the tone for his agenda and highlight impending legislative goals.
Horsford stated that his caucus would seek out to Sen. Tim Scott, the black South Carolina Republican who led the unsuccessful police reform negotiations the last time around.
After the then-Democratic-led House enacted the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in 2021, Scott and Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, could not agree on a police reform bill.
The 29-year-old FedEx employee was battered to death by five Memphis, Tennessee, police officers earlier this month, horrifying footage released on Friday revealed.
Last night, protests continued to spread around the nation, calling for the police to be defunded, after five policemen were dismissed and charged with murder, pending a February 17 bond hearing.
Ben Crump reported that he and the Nichols family spoke with President Joe Biden on Friday, urging him to exploit Nichols’ death to rally support for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Tyre Nichols is depicted on the ground arrested and surrounded by police officers during his brutal arrest earlier this month.
The bill, which attempts to restrict harsh police enforcement practices, cleared the House of Representatives in 2021 but stopped in the Senate. Thursday, Joe Biden urged Congress to send the legislation to his desk.
Crump said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’, ‘Shame on us if we don’t use his awful death to finally enact the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.’
Crump stated that he and the Nichols family had spoken with President Joe Biden on Friday and urged him to utilize Nichols’ passing to rally support for the adoption of the act.
Sunday on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ Crump stated that Nichols’ mother was coping with her son’s murder by believing he was intended to change the world.
“She believes in her heart that Tyre was sent here for a mission and that this tragedy will result in a greater good.”
The death of Nichols is the most recent prominent instance of police employing excessive force against black people and other minorities.
Last night, about a thousand protesters gathered in the Oscar Grant Plaza in Oakland, California.
Last night, a BLM demonstrator projected a ‘Defund The Police’ sign onto the Oakland Police Department’s wall.
Crump (left) and the Nichols family encouraged President Joe Biden on Friday to use Nichols’ passing to galvanize support for the act’s approval.
The death of Nichols, according to Crump, should finally prompt Congress to act.
CNN’s Benjamin Crump stated, “It is this culture that says it doesn’t matter whether the police officers are black, Hispanic, or white, that it is somehow acceptable to violate the constitutional rights of certain citizens from certain ethnicities and communities.”
In an appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Republican House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan advised against rushing into new legislation to create additional police mandates.
These five individuals had little regard for human life. Again, I do not believe that these five individuals represent the vast, vast bulk of law enforcement officers. But I’m not sure if there’s anything you can do to stop the wickedness depicted in that film,’ he said.
This month, Nichols, 29, passed just three days after being rushed to the hospital suffering a horrific beating at the hands of five Memphis Police officers.
Three days after being taken to the hospital in critical condition, Nichols passed away.
On January 20, all five officers were fired, and on January 26, they were arrested and charged with the murder of Nichols as well as kidnapping, assault, and misconduct.
Five policemen, all of whom are black, are charged with Nichols’ murder after bodycam and street security camera footage obtained on January 7 shows them brutally approaching Nichols.
Nichols was hospitalized and died of his injuries in the city where he resided with his mother and stepfather and worked for FedEx three days later.
The Memphis Police Department disbanded the SCORPION squad to which the officers belonged on Saturday, as protests erupted in US cities a day after the release of a horrifying video of the attack.
Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods is the acronym for Scorpion.
On Saturday, Memphis police chief Cerelyn ‘CJ’ Davis abolished the unit.
She stated, “It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit.”
Prior to Davis’s action, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland stated that it was evident that the officers involved in the assault on Nichols had violated departmental regulations and training.
The world is watching us, said the district attorney of Shelby County, Steve Mulroy. If there is any silver lining to be found in this very black cloud, it is the possibility that this episode can spark a broader discussion about the need for police reform.
Biden joined national civil rights leaders in calling for similar actions.
President Obama stated, “To deliver real change, we must hold law enforcement officers accountable when they violate their oaths, and we must build lasting trust between law enforcement, the vast majority of whom wear the badge honorably, and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect.”
Since its creation on Saturday, a GoFundMe account established for the Nichols family has already garnered more than $1 million in donations.
The five outstanding questions
Several concerns remain, like why Tyre Nichols was stopped in the first place and what eventually caused his death, days after disturbing video evidence of his savage beating in Memphis, Tennessee was made public.
The video has raised numerous unanswered issues regarding the traffic stop involving the black motorist and the behavior of the officers who stood by as he lay unmoving on the pavement.
Three days after Nichols’ arrest, the five disgraced Memphis Police Department officers were dismissed and charged with second-degree murder and other felonies in connection with his death.
The footage released on Friday also raiseds new issues about the persistence of tragic contacts with law officers despite repeated demands for reform.
Several concerns remain days after gruesome film of Tyre Nichols’ horrific assault in Memphis, Tennessee, was released, including why he was stopped in the first place and what eventually caused his death.
The Nichols family legal team has compared the assault to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.
Nichols yells for his mother as his limp body is placed in the back of a police car and the cops exchange fist bumps.
Director of the Memphis Police Department Cerelyn ‘CJ’ Davis stated that other officers are under investigation, while sheriff of Shelby County Floyd Bonner stated that two deputies have been placed on administrative leave without pay while their actions is probed.
Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, stated that the family would “continue to seek justice,” citing the fact that several other cops refused to offer aid, making them “just as culpable as the officers who threw the blows.”
The arrest was conducted by the so-called Scorpion unit, which is comprised of three teams of approximately 30 officers that target violent offenders in high-crime areas. Since then, the unit has been disbanded.
What was the likely reason for the first traffic stop?
What prompted the traffic stop in the first place was the subject of much speculation.
One officer is heard stating that Nichols refused to stop and then swerved as though he intended to hit his car.
The officer reported that when Nichols stopped at a red light, the cops exited their vehicle.
“We attempted to stop him,” the officer stated. ‘He didn’t stop.’
Officers initially stated that Nichols was stopped for careless driving; however, on Friday, authorities stated that there was no evidence to support this assertion.
Indeed, the disclosed camera footage did not begin until after he was confronted by police at a crossroads. It appears that the initial traffic stop was not filmed, but it is unclear why.
Chief Davis stated that the department cannot provide justification for the stop.
She stated, “We don’t know what happened.” All we know is that the level of force used in this situation was excessive.
January 7 at 8:24 p.m. in south-eastern Memphis, the vehicle of Nichols is observed being stopped.
Why did the police officers accused of murdering Nichols treat him with such brutality, and did any of them previously know the victim?
As a bunch of officers wrestle Nichols to the ground, he can be heard saying, “I didn’t do anything” after being forcibly removed from a vehicle by the first officer.
One cop can be heard shouting, “Taze him!” Tase him!’
Nichols says with composure, ‘Okay, I’m on the ground.’
Nichols responds, “You guys are really doing a lot right now.” “I’m simply trying to get home,”
He shouts, “Stop, I’m not doing anything!” moments later.
Nichols first complies with the cops’ requests, despite being perplexed by their anger; he lies on the ground as instructed as policemen attempt to handcuff him. It is unknown whether he had previously interacted with any of the implicated police officers.
Nichols is then seen running after a Taser is fired at him by an officer. His family believed he was attempting to reach the location of the beating, which was only a few homes away from his mother’s house. The officers then begin to pursue Nichols.
Nichols is apprehended at another crossroads during a search involving additional cops. The officers struck him with a baton, kicked and punched him, and then sprayed him with pepper spray as their fury toward him grew.
What did the officer do during the violence that resulted in Nichols’ death?
Three cops can be seen around Nichols as he lies in the street between two police cruisers, with a fourth officer standing nearby.
A third officer seems to kick Nichols in the head after two officers hold him to the ground while he rolls about. Nichols falls more heavily to the ground as three officers encircle him. The same cop strikes him once more.
The fourth cop then approaches, grabs a baton, and raises it to shoulder height while two officers hold Nichols erect as if he were seated.
One cop can be heard stating, “I’ll beat the s*** out of you with a baton.” His body camera shows him raising his baton as another cop holds Nichols. The cop repeatedly smacks Nichols in the back with the baton.
The other police then appear to lift Nichols to his feet, with him dangling like a rag doll and barely able to stand.
The officer then punches him in the face while continuing to strike him with the baton. Still being held up by two officers, Nichols falls and spins. The cop who initially attacked Nichols then walks around to his front and punches him four times. Nichols then collapses.
Approximately forty seconds later, two cops can be seen atop Nichols on the ground, with a third officer nearby. Three additional officers then approach, with one shown kicking Nichols to the ground.
As Nichols slumps against a car, not a single officer gives assistance. The clip from the body camera shows one of them lacing his shoe.
According to court records, all five former policemen were arrested: Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmett Martin III, and Justin Smith.
Under Tennessee law, second-degree murder is punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison.
Why didn’t police offer aid to Nichols when he went unresponsive, and why did EMTs arrive 20 minutes later before rendering aid?
Nichols is pummeled and on the ground for more than 20 minutes before any type of medical assistance is rendered, despite the fact that two fire department officials with medical equipment arrived on the scene within 10 minutes.
While waiting for an ambulance, the officers joked and vented their frustrations. Multiple officers were caught in the crossfire of the pepper spray that was used against Nichols, according to their complaints.
Throughout the films, cops make statements about Nichols’ behavior that are not substantiated by the footage or have been denied by the district attorney and other officials.
In one of the recordings, an officer states that Nichols lunged for the officer’s gun before escaping during the initial traffic stop and almost had his hand on the handle, which is not apparent on the video.
Upon seeing Nichols in handcuffs and resting against a police cruiser, numerous officers say that he must have been under the influence of drugs.
Later, an officer states that no narcotics were located in Nichols’ vehicle, to which another police responds that he must have dropped something while fleeing.
Twenty minutes passed after the arrival of the first responders before a stretcher was brought into view and an ambulance arrived.
It is unclear how much longer Nichols waited before being transported to the hospital.
One can see a paramedic leaning over Nichols and saying, “What do you have?” We’re attempting to set you straight, what did you order? He cannot answer and emits a gurgling sound.
Nichols is seen bleeding and barely awake, leaned up against the automobile.
What was the cause of Nichols’ death?
A video released on Friday shows at least ten police officers and two paramedics wandering about for about twenty minutes while Nichols lies seriously injured on the ground.
Three days later, on January 10, he died in intensive care after suffering cardiac arrest and kidney failure as a result of his injuries.
Blood was spotted around his face as police officers were seen kicking him twice in the head.
Authorities have not issued an autopsy report detailing the exact injuries that caused his death and how they were caused.
According to an independent autopsy, he died of “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.”
The video raises troubling issues about the apparent inaction of first responders after Nichols was kicked and beaten in the head, slammed three times with a metal baton, and sprayed twice in the face with pepper spray.
Nichols was handcuffed and slumped against the side of a car when paramedics arrived on the scene around five minutes after the assault on him ended.
The video depicts a paramedic asking Nichols, “What do you have?” We’re attempting to set you straight, what did you order?
Nichols can be heard gurgling but is unable to talk, despite having been heard speaking clearly and somewhat calmly prior to the assault.
After the incident, officers at the site were overheard joking that Nichols was “on something” and “high as a kite”
The police may have told the paramedics that Nichols was under the influence of drugs, but no evidence of this has emerged in the weeks following the assault.
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