Tyre Nichols family demand justice on eve of funeral

• The motorist Tyre Nichols died after being beaten by police in Memphis.
• The burial is scheduled for Wednesday.
• Police officers have been charged with second-degree murder.

The family of a motorist Tyre Nichols who died after being beaten by police in Memphis, Tennessee, have demanded accountability on the eve of his funeral.

Tyre Nichols’ stepfather and brother promised to continue fighting for justice at a church in the city. Five ex-cops have been charged with murder.

“What happened to Tyre was a shame to this country,” racial rights activist Al Sharpton said.

The officers’ police personnel files contain a slew of complaints.

The burial is scheduled for Wednesday, a day after US Vice President Kamala Harris called Mr. Nichols’ bereaved mother.

Mr. Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, begged the people to “keep fighting for justice for my son” on Tuesday evening at the church where civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr delivered his last address and where Wednesday’s ceremony will take place.

Mr. Sharpton honored Mr. Nichols’ family and local activists and called his killing a national disgrace.

“People from all around the world witnessed the videotape of an unarmed, unprovoked guy being beaten to death by law enforcement personnel,” he added.

“That might have been any of us,” he continued.

Jamal Dupree, Mr. Nichols’ brother, also spoke, telling mourners, “My little brother didn’t deserve any of this.”

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith, all former Memphis police officers, have been charged with second-degree murder and other charges in Mr. Nichols’ death. Mr. Nichols and the other five are all black.

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