Family of Tyre Nichols holds prayer vigil 1 year after his death
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WISH) — For a man and woman in Memphis, Sunday marked a very difficult day. It was the first anniversary of the day their son, Tyre Nichols, was driving home while on a job break to have a meal with his mother and father, a routine he’d established for months.
Nichols never made it after being stopped by Memphis police, for reasons still undetermined, and savagely beaten to death by five now-former officers.
Nichols was pulled from his car and hit with fists, a stun gun, and pepper spray, and restrained while officers took turns beating him. He had tried to run home but was unsuccessful in doing so.
The officers eventually caught Nichols steps from his home. Police body camera and city video, released in the weeks after Nichols’ murder, showed him calling out for his mother, RowVaughn Wells.
Nichols died in a hospital of his injuries three days later on Jan. 10, 2023.
On Sunday night, Nichols’ family members and their supporters gathered at the site of the beating to remember the life of the father, FedEx employee, skateboarding aficionado, and amateur photographer who was taken from them at the age of 29.
More than 100 people held candles as Nichols’ mother, stepfather, and siblings talked about the difficulties they have faced over the last year.
Wells told the crowd that “her stomach began hurting the night of the traffic stop, not knowing that her son was being beaten just steps from her house,” the Associated Press reported.
Nichols’ death also led to serious repercussions for the Memphis Police Department and the city.
Seven officers were fired for violating department policies during the traffic stop and beating, while an eighth was allowed to retire before he could be fired.
Five of the fired officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith — were charged with second-degree murder and other offenses in state court, and with civil rights violations in federal court. The five officers are Black.
Mills pleaded guilty in November to federal charges of excessive force and obstruction of justice.
An autopsy report showed Nichols died from blows to the head and that the manner of death was homicide.
Originally, the officers said they pulled Nichols over because he was driving recklessly, but police Chief CJ Davis said in an interview with CNN days after Nichols’ death that there was no evidence was found to support that allegation.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced a ‘pattern or practice’ investigation in July to examine how Memphis police officers use force and conduct arrests, initiated by the department’s Civil Rights Office.
Nichols’ family is suing the police department, the city and the former officers in federal court for $550 million.