Kamala Harris Speaks At Tyre Nichols’ Funeral: He ‘Ought to Have Been Secure’

Vice President Kamala Harris took the rostrum at Tyre Nichols’ funeral on Wednesday and condemned the actions of the Memphis law enforcement officials who beat him days earlier than his dying.

“It is a household that misplaced their son and their brother by an act of violence by the hands and the toes of people that had been charged with preserving them protected,” Harris stated after being launched by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered Nichols’ eulogy at Memphis’ Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church.

“After I take into consideration the braveness and the energy of this household, I feel it calls for that we communicate reality,” she continued. “And with this, I’ll say: This violent act was not in pursuit of public security.”

5 officers have been charged with murdering Nichols. Police pulled over the 29-year-old Black man on Jan. 7 and proceeded to beat him and douse him in pepper spray as he screamed for assist, physique digicam footage confirmed.

A bruised and bloodied Nichols died within the hospital three days later.

“Was he not additionally entitled to the appropriate to be protected?” Harris requested of Nichols, a father of 1. “So once we discuss public security, allow us to perceive what it means in its truest type: Tyre Nichols ought to have been protected.”

The Shelby County District Legal professional’s workplace stated earlier this week it’s nonetheless investigating the occasions that led as much as Nichols’ dying and will proceed with extra expenses. The workplace is wanting into further police and fireplace division personnel who interacted with Nichols the evening of his site visitors cease ― a few of whom have already been fired from their jobs.

“Our aim stays the identical: to hunt justice for Tyre Nichols and maintain all who contributed to his dying accountable,” the district legal professional’s workplace stated in an announcement Monday. “We ask for the general public’s persistence because the investigation continues.”

Harris additionally demanded Wednesday that Congress move the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act ― named for an additional sufferer of police brutality ― that accommodates a number of dramatic policing reforms geared toward combatting police misconduct, eliminating extreme pressure and preventing racial bias. It handed within the Home in 2021 however didn’t make it by the Senate.