Tyre Nichols - news: 20 hours of video missing as pressure grows ...
More than 20 hours of video related to Nichols’ beating by Memphis police has yet to be released
‘We mourn with you’: Kamala Harris gives passionate speech at Tyre Nichols’ funeral
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Up to 20 hours of additional footage from the deadly beating of Tyre Nichols by a group of Memphis Police Department officers has yet to be released, according to a law enforcement official in Tennessee.
Even with that missing footage, president Biden is under heavy pressure to pass police reform following the killing of the 29-year-old at the hands of police.
The president met with leaders from the Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday to discuss next steps.
“The discussion focused on important reforms that have already been implemented as a result of the President’s action, including the banning of chokeholds, restricting no-knock warrants, and requiring the use of body cameras at the federal level, and what more needs to be done by Congress,” the White House told The Independent.
The meeting comes a day after the funeral for Tyre Nichols was held in Memphis.
During the service at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, Nichols’ family, civil rights leaders, and Vice President Kamala Harris all led calls for police reform and urged Congress to take action by finally passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the life of Tyre Nichols on Wednesday evening in a ceremony inside a Mississippi Boulevard Baptist Church in Memphis.
The 29-year-old Black man was fatally beaten by a group of Memphis Police Department officers last month, and horrific footage of the incident released last week has revived an urgent demand for reform.
Reflecting on the far-reaching shock of his death, those in attendance at his funeral included vice president Kamala Harris, filmmaker Spike Lee and members of Congress, with a eulogy from the Rev Al Sharpton. There was also a “call to action” from civil rights attorney Ben Crump demanding “swift justice” against police who commit violence against Black Americans.
In their remarks, faith leaders struck a delicate balance, urging support for a grieving family while reflecting on the sadness and anger of a nation just days after witnessing yet another attack against a Black American by police.
Alex Woodward has the details.
Josh Marcus3 February 2023 10:00
Vice President Kamala Harris addressed a congregation in Memphis gathered for a funeral service for Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who was fatally beaten by a group of Memphis Police Department officers.
The vice president was among several members of President Joe Biden’s administration attending the service at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church on 1 February.
“You have been extraordinary,” she said of Nichols’s mother RowVaughn Wells and stepfather Rodney Wells.
“We have a mother and a father who mourn the life of a young man who should be here today,” she continued. “They have a grandson who now does not have a father. His brothers and sisters will lose the love of growing old with their baby brother.”
Alex Woodward reports.
Josh Marcus3 February 2023 09:00
When Vice President Kamala Harris was called to the pulpit at the funeral for Tyre Nichols, she said the White House would settle for nothing less than ambitious federal legislation to crack down on police brutality.
“We should not delay. And we will not be denied,” Harris said to applause in Memphis, Tennessee. “It is non-negotiable.”
Back in Washington, however, progress appears difficult, if not unlikely. Bipartisan efforts to reach an agreement on policing legislation stalled more than a year ago, and President Joe Biden ended up instead signing an executive order named for George Floyd, whose murder at the hands of Minneapolis police set off nationwide protests nearly three years ago.
Now, with a new killing in the headlines, Biden and Harris will meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday to explore whether it’s possible to get legislation back on track.
Chris Megerian and Farnoush Amiri report.
Josh Marcus3 February 2023 07:59
The sound of the djembe drums started as a low tremble and grew more distinct as the musicians drew closer to the hundreds gathered inside the Memphis church.
“We love you, Tyre,” the drummers chanted, referring to Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man whose beating by five police officers led to his death and this funeral on the first day of Black History Month.
By the time the procession reached Nichols’ black casket draped in a large white bouquet, the congregation in the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church was on its feet shouting the chant in unison. Some raised clenched fists. Others let out screams of grief. Many grabbed tissues to dab at tears. All of it streamed live on television.
The funeral on Wednesday had all the hallmarks of what’s known as a homegoing service in Black American communities: comforting gospel hymns, remembrances from loved ones and a stirring eulogy from a clergyman.
More from Aaron Morrison.
Josh Marcus3 February 2023 07:00
Vice President Kamala Harris and members of Congress attended his funeral on 1 February, where the Rev Al Sharpton delivered a eulogy. Members of Nichols’ family are slated to attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address as guests of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Body-worn camera footage shows officers dragging Nichols from his car and firing a taser weapon at him before he fled the scene on foot.
More details in our full story.
Josh Marcus3 February 2023 06:00
Among the key areas that President Biden underdelivered, due to roadblocks from Republicans and Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), is racial justice.
It will be interesting to see if Biden reiterates his intention to pass voting rights legislation. And now, given the depraved killings of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police, will Biden renew calls for police reform?
Read Ahmed Baba’s full story for Independent Voices.
Josh Marcus3 February 2023 05:00
Up to 20 hours of additional footage from the deadly beating of Tyre Nichols by a group of Memphis Police Department officers has yet to be released, according to a law enforcement official in Tennessee.
Unreleased footage from the attack on 7 January includes audio of what was said among emergency responders and officers in the aftermath of the beating and after Nichols was moved to a local hospital, Shelby County prosecutor Steven Mulroy told CNN.
Nichols died in hospital on 10 January, three days after the attack.
It will be up to Memphis officials to determine whether to publicly release any additional footage, following the release of roughly one hour of footage from four separate videos on 27 January.
That footage from officers’ body-worn cameras and a police surveillance camera pole constitute “the relevant parts” of the initial traffic stop and the beating at a second location, according to Mr Mulroy.
Alex Woodward is on the story.
Josh Marcus3 February 2023 04:00
warm orange glow surrounds a then-17-year-old Tyre Nichols as he glides on a ramp. On his skateboard, he floats across smooth concrete, jumps on a box and slides on a flat rail. In another clip, he stumbles on a concrete bar while performing a trick, then picks himself up and tries it again.
He appears airless as a camera follows him cruising on his board and rolling across wide pavement. For one brief moment, he looks as if he is suspended in air, flipping on his board as he jumps a set of stairs in slow motion.
A one-minute and 44-second montage of Nichols on his skateboard has been shared thousands of times following the publication of brutal footage of a group of Memphis Police Department officers fatally beating him in early January. Nichols, 29, died three days later, on 10 January.
As his friends and family mourn, and as the nation recovers from the shock of another act of violence against a Black American by police officers, his skateboarding videos have taken on a new life, capturing a joy and expression that resonates with skateboarding communities across the US.
Alex Woodward has the story.
Josh Marcus3 February 2023 03:00
One person was killed and an officer was left seriously injured at a library in East Memphis, according to the Memphis Police Department.
The shooting at the Poplar-White Station Library took place shortly after officers responded to a call at the library around 12:30 pm, according to a statement shared on social media by the police department. The person who was shot was pronounced dead at the scene while the police officer was transported to the hospital.
Abe Asher reports.
Josh Marcus3 February 2023 02:00
“They’re trained to respond in a certain manner when someone has a disability,” Christian Contreras, an attorney for the Lowe family, told The Independent. “We have law, state and federal, which prevents this kind of abuse.”
On 26 January, Huntington Park police responded to a call that a man in a wheelchair had stabbed someone. Multiple officers arrived to find Lowe holding a knife.
Partial bystander video, which contains graphic images, captures Lowe appearing to flee, exiting his wheelchair and crawling along the ground, before police shot him multiple times.
More details in our full report.
Josh Marcus3 February 2023 01:00
