Tyre Nichols’ GoFundMe page has raised more than $1 million in just two days as the public’s outpouring of sorrow for the FedEx employee slain by police last month continues.
In Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this month, the 29-year-old was brutally murdered by five police officers, disturbing video that was made public on Friday shows.
Following the most recent brutal killing of a black man at the hands of the police, protesters have called for significant reform of the police and five policemen have been detained.
On Friday, Tyre’s mother RowVaughn Wells wrote a heartfelt tribute to the GoFundMe, and by Sunday, it had surpassed $1 million.
On the fundraising page, she stated: “On January 7, 2023, my son Tyre Nichols was stopped for alleged “reckless driving.” There is no proof to support this assertion.
Additionally, authorities say that my son walked away from the scene. He really merely wanted to go to my home for safety, which was only a few blocks from the scene of the event.
“My kid was only wanting to go home so that he or she could be secure in my arms.” Throughout the whole interaction, Tyre was unarmed, non-threatening, and polite to the cops!
After Tyre was arrested and just before he passed away from his wounds, his devastated mother uploaded a picture of him laying in a hospital bed with his face bruised.
“They beat my kid beyond recognition during his confrontation with the cops until he was rendered unconscious,” she said.
He was then brought to a hospital and put on life support right away. Although he passed away three days later, I think my son died away on January 7—the day those five Black Memphis Police Officers pulled Tyre over and beat him to death without cause.
He was huge and deformed when his cousin saw him in the hospital, commenting that “he was a terrible monster.”
Tyre’s mother praised him for being a “kind, caring, joyous” skater.
He was said to want to give you a hug as he entered the room and not harm a fly, according to the woman.
He had never received a citation for a parking infraction or any other legal issue. He was a kind son, an honest guy, and considerate to everyone. His loss will be felt throughout the country because he was eccentric and true to himself.
The campaign will assist in defraying the expense of their mental health and enabling them to take time off from work, according to Ms. Wells, who said that they want to dedicate their time to pursuing justice for their son.
In Tyre’s honor, they also want to construct a skate park monument.
Tyre’s friends and family have also made video of him doing skate tricks available so that he may be remembered “practising his trade.”
In the meanwhile, the family’s attorney has asked Congress to swiftly enact police reform legislation that forbids chokeholds in the aftermath of his death.
Ben Crump said that he and the Nichols family had a Friday conversation with President Joe Biden in which they pushed him to utilize Nichols’ passing to rally support for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
The measure, which intends to curb harsh law enforcement practices, was approved by the House of Representatives in 2021 under Democratic rule but never advanced in the Senate. On Thursday, Joe Biden urged Congress to get the bill to his desk.
Crump said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “shame on us if we don’t utilize his awful death to finally get the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act enacted.”
President Joe Biden was contacted by Crump and the Nichols family on Friday, and they pleaded with him to use Nichols’ passing to rally support for the act’s approval.
Crump stated on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that Nichols’ mother was dealing with her son’s passing by thinking he was meant to change the world.
She firmly feels that Tyre was brought here on a mission and that something positive will come out of this tragedy.
The recent high-profile instance of police employing excessive force against Black people and other minorities is Nichols’ killing.
Crump said that Nichols’ passing should finally spur Congress to take action.
It is this mentality, Crump stated on CNN, that allows police to violate the constitutional rights of certain individuals from particular ethnic groups and neighborhoods, regardless of whether the officers are Black, Hispanic, or White.
Jim Jordan, the chair of the House of Representatives’ judiciary committee and a Republican, issued a warning when speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “Don’t rush into new legislation to establish additional requirements for police.”
“These five people had no regard for human life.” Again, I don’t believe that these five individuals are an accurate representation of the great majority of police enforcement. However, I doubt there is much you can do to prevent the type of wickedness shown in that film, he added.
Five Black police officers have been accused with killing Nichols after footage from body cameras and a street surveillance camera filmed them shoving him on January 7.
In the city where he resided with his mother and stepfather and worked at FedEx, Nichols was taken to the hospital and passed away from his wounds three days later.
On Saturday, the Memphis Police Department dissolved the SCORPION squad to which the officers belonged as demonstrations spread across American cities a day after the horrific attack’s footage was made public.
Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods is what Scorpion stands for.
On Saturday, Cerelyn “CJ” Davis, the police chief of Memphis, abolished the squad.
In a statement, she said that “it is in the best interest of all parties to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit.”
Jim Strickland, the mayor of Memphis, said that it was evident that the officers participating in the assault on Nichols had broken departmental rules and procedures prior to Davis’ action.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said, “The world is watching us.” If there is any bright spot in this extremely gloomy picture, it is that maybe this episode can spark a wider discussion about the need for police reform.
Similar appeals for action were issued by Biden and other national civil rights leaders.
The president stated that in order to bring about real change, “we must hold law enforcement accountable when they disobey their oaths and we need to build enduring trust between law enforcement—the vast majority of whom wear the badge honorably—and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect.”
Since it was established on Saturday, a GoFundMe established for the Nichols family has received more than $1 million in contributions.
The video shows officers brutally hitting 29-year-old FedEx employee Nichols for three minutes while yelling obscenities at him. The Nichols family legal team has compared this attack to the notorious police beating of Los Angeles driver Rodney King in 1991.
Before his lifeless body is leaning against a police vehicle and the cops shake hands, Nichols cries out for his mother.
Other officers, according to Memphis Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis, are the subject of an investigation, while Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said that two deputies have been removed of their duties while an inquiry into their actions is ongoing.
The family will “continue to pursue justice,” said Nichols’ stepfather Rodney Wells, stressing that numerous other cops refused to intervene, making them “just as complicit as the officers who launched the punches.”
The so-called Scorpion squad, which has three teams of approximately 30 street cops and focuses on violent criminals in high-crime areas, made the arrest. Since then, the group has been dissolved.
What was the most likely reason for the first traffic stop?
There were several uncertainties over what precipitated the first traffic stop.
Nichols wouldn’t stop, according to one police, who then swerved as if to strike the officer’s vehicle.
The officer said that the cops got out of the vehicle as soon as Nichols approached a red light.
The cop sobbed, “We tried to convince him to stop. “He continued,”
Police claimed on Friday that there was no police evidence to support the first assertion that Nichols was stopped for driving recklessly.
In fact, the video tape didn’t begin until after cops approached him at a crosswalk. It is unclear why the first traffic stop was not captured on camera.
The department, according to Chief Davis, cannot support the justification for the stop.
We have no idea what happened, she added. “All we know is that the level of force used in this circumstance was excessive.”
Why did the police officers suspected of killing Nichols treat him so harshly, and did any of them previously know the victim?
Nichols can be heard pleading, “I didn’t do anything,” as a bunch of cops start to drag him to the ground after the first officer yanks him out of a vehicle violently.
Tase him! one cop can be heard screaming. Tackle him!
“OK, I’m on the ground,” Nichols states coolly.
Nichols remarks, “You guys are really working hard right now.” I simply want to go home, I guess.
He screams, “Stop, I’m not doing anything!” a short while afterwards.
Although he is perplexed by their animosity against him, Nichols first complies with the policemen’ orders and lays down where he is instructed as they attempt to handcuff him. It’s unknown whether he had any past interactions with any of the implicated police officers.
After an officer uses a Taser on Nichols, he can be seen fleeing. His relatives said that he was attempting to go to his mother’s house, which was just a few homes from the location of the assault. The police then begin to pursue Nichols.
Before Nichols is apprehended at another crossroads, more cops are summoned, and a search is conducted. Police fury at him only increased as the cops pepper sprayed him after beating him with a baton, punching and kicking him.
When the incident that killed Nichols occurred, which cop did what?
Security camera video shows Nichols lying at the street corner between police vehicles with three cops around him and a fourth officer close.
Nichols is being held down by two cops while moving about, and a third officer then seems to kick him in the head. With all three cops encircling him, Nichols slumps even further to the ground. He is again punched by the same cop.
After that, the fourth cop approaches, pulls a baton, and raises it to his shoulder while the other two police keep Nichols still, as if he were seated.
One of the officers can be heard stating, “I’m going to baton the f*** out of you.” He can be seen raising his baton on his body camera while at least one other cop is holding Nichols. Three times in a row, the officer uses the baton to hit Nichols in the back.
Nichols is then shown being lifted to his feet by the other police while flopping like a doll and struggling to maintain his balance.
The cop with the baton continues to attack him while another police hits him in the face. Nichols trips and twists while being restrained by two police. The cop who struck him then turns around and strikes Nichols four more times in the front. Nichols then passes out.
The next 40 seconds are spent by two cops on top of Nichols as a third stands nearby. Then, three more policemen arrive, one of them is seen kicking Nichols as he lies on the ground.
Nichols is slouched against a vehicle, and not a single police offers assistance. One of them is seen reaching down and tying his shoe on the body camera clip.
According to court documents, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith, all five former cops, were apprehended.
According to Tennessee law, a second-degree murderer faces a sentence of 15 to 60 years in prison.
Why did EMTs wait until 20 minutes after their arrival to assist Nichols after he went unconscious and why didn’t police treat him right away?
Even though two fire department personnel were on the scene within 10 minutes with medical supplies, it takes more than 20 minutes after Nichols is battered and on the sidewalk before any form of medical assistance is given.
Officers made jokes and voiced their complaints as they waited for an ambulance. They expressed displeasure with the destruction of a portable radio, the theft of a flashlight, and the fact that many policemen were injured when Nichols was pepper sprayed.
Officers repeatedly assert things about Nichols’ actions that are either not corroborated by the video or that the district attorney and other authorities have claimed did not occur.
In one of the recordings, an officer asserts that Nichols grabbed for the officer’s pistol during the original traffic stop before escaping and almost put his hand on the handle, even though this is not seen in the video.
Several cops claim that Nichols must have been high after they have him in handcuffs and have him leaning against a police vehicle.
Later, when an officer claims that no narcotics were discovered in his vehicle, another cop quickly responds that Nichols must have dropped something while fleeing.
Twenty minutes passed after the first medical personnel were on the site before an ambulance and stretcher could be seen approaching.
How long it took before Nichols was transported to the hospital is unknown.
What caused Nichols’ death?
A video that was made public on Friday shows at least 10 police officers and two paramedics loitering about aimlessly for over 20 minutes while Nichols remains seriously wounded on the ground.
After experiencing cardiac arrest and renal failure as a consequence of his injuries, he passed away in the hospital on January 10 while still in critical care, three days later.
He was witnessed being kicked twice in the head by police, and his face was covered in blood.
An autopsy report that would detail precisely which injuries killed him and how they were sustained has not been made public by the authorities.
He had “extensive bleeding caused by a violent beating,” according to an independent autopsy.
The footage calls into question the apparent failure of emergency personnel to provide Nichols with medical attention after he had been kicked and hit in the head, beaten three times with a metal baton, and twice doused with pepper spray.
About five minutes after Nichols’ attack ended, paramedics showed up on the scene; at that time, he was arrested and leaning against a vehicle.
A paramedic can be seen asking Nichols, “What’d you have?” on the footage. What’d you have? We’re just trying to get you straight.
Although he had been heard speaking coherently and somewhat quietly before to the attack, Nichols is heard gurgling and looks unable to talk.
Following the attack, officers at the scene were overheard wisecracking that Nichols was “on something” and “high as a kite.”
Although there has been no proof of Nichols’ drug use in the weeks after the assault, police may have told the paramedics that he was.
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