United States: the very political funeral of Tire Nichols against police violence
Vice President Kamala Harris with Reverend Al Sharpton at the funeral of Tire Nichols in Memphis on February 1, 2023. AP - Andrew Nelles
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2 mins
The funeral of Tire Nichols, this 29-year-old African-American beaten to death by five police officers on January 7, was particularly painful in Memphis on Wednesday February 1.
The images of his fatal beating were released on Friday and shocked America and this funeral took a very political turn.
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With our special correspondent in Memphis,
David Thomson
They walk slowly towards the church.
Freddy and Dolores absolutely wanted to be present for Tire Nichols' funeral.
This African-American retired couple lives on the same street as
this smiling 29-year-old neighbor beaten to death by five police officers
a few meters from their home, they who have experienced segregation and police violence all their lives.
“
I experienced this before in 1972 in my old neighborhood in Mississippi when a black activist was murdered by a police officer.
Then I moved to Memphis and 50 years later I saw it again.
It's painful.
They violate our rights whenever they can
,” laments Freddy.
The Vice President of the United States made the trip to Memphis.
Sitting in the front row in the church of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, Kamala Harris paid tribute to the courage of the mother of Tire Nichols by hugging her for a long time.
Reviving the George Floyd law
Then the vice-president forcefully asked Congress to pass this vast police reform promised by Joe Biden after the death of George Floyd.
A request also taken up by the mother of Tire Nichols to reduce police violence.
But this law, which incidentally bears
the name of the African-American who died under the knee of a white police officer in 2020 in Minneapolis
, the George Floyd Justice in Policing
Act
, is completely blocked in Congress by Republican senators.
This funeral also took a very political turn with the funeral oration of the Reverend Al Sharpton.
“
If Tire Nichols was white, he wouldn't have been beaten to death
,” said this great figure in the civil rights struggle.
Al Sharpton thus attacked the five ex-police officers accused of having killed the young man when they themselves are African-American.
“
How dare you do this in the town where Martin Luther King was killed?
he got carried away.
These five police officers confused by videos have all been charged with murder.
The mother of the victim also thanked the authorities of Memphis for the speed of their reaction.
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