Kamala Harris Attends Tyre Nichols’s Funeral in Memphis

Vice President Kamala Harris listens during a meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, on Sept. 12, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Vice President Kamala Harris attended the funeral of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old FedEx worker who died three days after a violent interaction with police.

Harris was invited to the Memphis, Tennessee, funeral during her phone call with the victim’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, on Jan. 31, according to family attorney Ben Crump’s statement to NBC News.

“Vice President Harris and Ms. Wells spoke exclusively, and during this emotional time, the Vice President was able to console Ms. Wells and even help her smile,” Crump said in a statement to the outlet.

Nichols’s family also told reporters that Tamika Taylor, mother of Breonna Taylor, who died in an encounter with police three years ago in her Kentucky home, and Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, would also be attending the funeral.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, leader of civil rights group National Action Network, was also in attendance at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. The service, referenced as a celebration of life service, featured a group of percussionists and The Mississippi Blvd Celebration Choir, who sang “We love you, Tyre.”

In a statement following the release of the video footage showing Nichols’s confrontation with police, Harris said the footage and images “will forever be seared in our memories, and they open wounds that will never fully heal.” She also said persistent police misconduct and excessive force in the United States “must end now.”

Video footage released on the night of Jan. 27 appeared to show the Memphis police officers kicking and hitting Nichols, who died three days later in a hospital.

Former President Donald Trump also spoke out to condemn the attack, telling The Associated Press, “I thought it was terrible.”

Trump spoke to reporters shortly after the bodycam footage showing the violent arrest and beating of Nichols was released.

“He was in such trouble. He was just being pummeled. Now that should never have happened,” Trump said.

The five former officers charged in the death of Nichols will be arraigned on Feb. 17, according to court records.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated kidnapping, along with several other charges related to the traffic stop that resulted in Nichols’s death.

The former policemen—all of whom are black—will be arraigned together at 10 a.m. at a court in Shelby County, Tennessee, according to several news reports. According to the documents, Judge James Jones will hear the case.

If convicted of second-degree murder, they may face up to 60 years in jail.