The family of Tire Nichols, a black man who died after being assaulted by police in Tennessee, in the United States, describes him as a “beautiful soul”, passionate about skateboarding, sunsets and photography.
“No one is perfect, but he came close,” says his mother, RowVaughn Wells, at a press conference alongside family and supporters. Nichols was brutally assaulted by police on Jan. 7 when his car was pulled over by officers. Footage recorded by cameras in police uniforms shows the young man crying and calling for his mother as he was punched and kicked multiple times.
He was hospitalized and died three days later on 10 January. Now that the images have surfaced, the young man’s death has caused great outrage in the US. Officers initially said they stopped Nichols’ car because he was driving recklessly, but the charge has not been substantiated.
Wells, visibly sad, cracked a rare smile as he described his son. Nichols worked for the FedEx postal service and had a four-year-old son. The love he felt for his mother was visible in the tattoo he had on his arm with her name. “It made me proud,” she says.
Nichols, 29, loved skateboarding, a passion he had since he was six years old. His favorite activity was going to the local park to practice.
The stepfather, Rodney Wells, says he recently joked with his stepson that he was too old to skate. “You have to quit skateboarding. You have a full-time job now,” he remembers saying. “He looked at me as if to say ‘it seems’, because that was his passion.”
loved taking pictures
Nichols also had a passion for photography and sunsets. His mother said that every night he went to Shelby Farms Park outside Memphis to watch the sunset and take pictures.
Nichols died days after being pulled over by agents. Five now-fired police officers who, like the victim, are black, are facing murder charges.
Nichols’ mother spoke about the pain the family has been feeling since his death. “All I know is my son is no longer here with me. He won’t walk through that door again.”
“He’s never going to walk in and say ‘hello mom and dad’ again because that’s what he would do. I’m never going to hear that again,” says Wells, adding that he will fight tirelessly for justice because “no child deserves this.”
Nichols’s stepfather described his stepson as “a nice kid” who was the baby of the family—he had two older brothers and an older sister. “I was Tire’s stepdad, but he was like my son,” he says of their relationship. Nichols and his stepfather also worked together at FedEx, where the young man had been an employee for nine months.
The stepfather said he watched the video of the police approach, describing it as “horrible” and something “no father, no mother should ever witness”.
He said the family would do everything they could to seek justice, but asked that protests on behalf of Nichols be peaceful, with no damage or looting. “This is not what Tire would want and it won’t bring him back.”
The brutality of the attacks
Videos released on Friday night (27) show five police officers taking turns brutally kicking and punching Tire Nichols. Meanwhile, the young man appears crying and calling repeatedly for his mother.
The images also show police officers shouting profanities and beating the FedEx employee for about three minutes. In all, the four videos released by the Memphis Police Department exceed an hour of footage.
Protests in Memphis and other US cities have been taking place since Friday.
Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, said her son was just 70 meters from the house when he was beaten. Lawyers for the family are comparing the case to that of Rodney King, who was beaten by police after he was stopped in traffic in Los Angeles in 1991. King survived, became a writer and died in 2012.
Police initially said Nichols had been pulled over on suspicion of reckless driving, which has not been substantiated. The five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were fired last week.
They were taken into custody on Thursday (26). Four of the five posted bail and were released on Friday morning. Each faces charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, official misconduct and official oppression.
Lawyers for Martin and Mills have said their clients will plead not guilty. Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis described the officers’ actions as “heinous, reckless and inhumane”.
US President Joe Biden said in a statement: “Like many, I was outraged and deeply saddened to see the horrific videotape of the beating that resulted in the death of Tire Nichols.”
This article was originally published here.
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