Tyre Nichols’ family and community grieve; the White House promises action

At Tyre Nichols’ funeral on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris demanded that Congress pass stalled legislation meant to hold police accountable after a high-profile police killing in 2020 sparked protests in the United States and abroad. Tyre Nichols was a young black man who died last month after being brutally beaten by Memphis police officers.

Speaking at Nichols’ funeral in Memphis, Tennessee, Harris said, “As vice president of the United States, we demand that Congress adopt the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act—Joe Biden will sign it.” And we shouldn’t wait; we won’t be turned away. It cannot be changed.

Nichols, 29, was remembered by his family on Wednesday as a devoted father, sharp photographer, and passionate skateboarder—the kind of guy who, according to his brother, “never raised a finger to anybody.”

However, following the terrible beating he endured on January 7 at the hands of five Black police officers, which was seen on camera, America now remembers him differently: as yet another young Black guy who was killed by what some regard as an epidemic of violent racism in American policing. Charges of murder have been brought against each of the five officers who beat Nichols, who passed away on January 10.

READ ALSO: US officials have made a police video about Tyre Nichols’ death public

According to the monitoring organisation Mapping Police Violence, black Americans made up 26% of police fatality victims in 2022. And according to the data, black people are three times more likely than white people to pass away during police interactions.

Harris argued that Nichols’ passing was unwise.

“This violent conduct wasn’t done to ensure the safety of the public,” she claimed. “It was not in the public’s best interest because, one must wonder, was it not in the public’s best interest that Tyre Nichols would be here with us today?”

However, campaigners demand more than just words. They demand a revision in the legislation and the creation of a federal statute like the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which was introduced in 2021 but failed to get support.

Before Nichols’ funeral, renowned civil rights leader the Reverend Al Sharpton declared, “It needs to be federal law.” “Let me tell you, you must get rid of qualified immunity until cops feel they have skin in the game, which is why you heard them say about the George Floyd bill and you heard the sister say about the legislation here, where the police are aware that they risk losing their car, house, and everything else.

However, some activists, like Leslie Mac, head of communications for the advocacy group Frontline, urge the government to divert funding in other directions. She used Zoom to talk to VOA.

President Biden mentioned the need for funding the police just last week, and Mac retorted, “I would push back and just let him know that taking funds away from violent enterprises and putting them in the hands of services that actually meet the needs of communities is not just smart from a federal level, but it’s a smart play for us as human beings in this society.”

VOA asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about what the government is doing to dispel the idea that structural racism is a problem in the United States.

She said that “the president has made it a point in his administration to make sure that it looks like America and that we see the diversity in this administration and throughout different committees.” And you observe that repeatedly when you examine the various agencies and the White House. And historically speaking, this is the most diverse administration ever. It matters.

The Congressional Black Caucus has asked Nichols’ parents to come to Biden’s State of the Union address the following week. He is expected to talk about a number of things, including police reform.

In his speech to a joint session of Congress last year, Biden declared, “Defunding the police is not the solution.” The solution is to give the police the funding, equipment, and instruction they require to safeguard our neighbourhoods.

VOA