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Vice President of the United States and brother of George Floyd at the funeral of Tyre Nichols

US Vice President Kamala Harris and George Floyd’s brother will attend the funeral in Memphis on Wednesday for Tire Nichols, the young African American whose fatal beating by black police officers shocked the country. The 29-year-old man was arrested on January 7 by officers from a special unit in Memphis, in the southern United States, for a simple traffic violation, according to police. But beaten so badly that, according to his family, he was unrecognizable, he died three days later in hospital. The case had caused the authorities to fear a social conflagration that could be compared to the one that had followed the death of George Floyd under the knee of a white police officer in 2020.

Reform

Philonise Floyd, one of the latter’s brothers, will also be present at the funeral, according to the law firm representing the family of Tire Nichols. “On February 1, the Vice President will travel to Memphis, Tennessee, to attend the funeral of Tyre Nichols”, the US leader said in a statement. Ben Crump, the attorney for the family of Tire Nichols — who also represented the Floyd family — said in a press release that the vice president made the trip at the invitation of the young man’s parents. In a phone call, he described as “full of emotion”, “the vice president was able to comfort Mrs. Wells (mother of Tire Nichols, editor’s note) and even help her smile. Tire’s parents have invited Vice President Harris to the funeral tomorrow and were happy that she accepted their invitation .”said Ben Crump.

For his part, President Joe Biden plans to receive on Thursday at the White House members of the parliamentary group that brings together African-American elected officials to “discuss legislation on police reform and other shared priorities”, said Olivia Dalton, a spokeswoman for the executive branch. “President Biden is determined to do everything in his power (…) to ensure that our criminal justice system lives up to expectations of impartial justice (…) and dignity for all.”, she added. The harrowing footage of Tire Nichols being arrested and beaten by officers was shown last week, uncut, by the nation’s major channels.

The five police officers involved were fired and charged with murder. The SCORPION unit they belonged to, which aimed to reduce the number of illegal activities in sensitive neighborhoods by deploying more police there, was disbanded. Three firefighters were dismissed in connection with the facts and two other police officers were suspended. On Wednesday in Memphis, Reverend Al Sharpton, a figure in the civil rights struggle, will deliver the eulogy for Tire Nichols at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church. The service starts at 10:30 local (16:30 GMT). In addition to George Floyd’s brother, Breonna Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, will also attend, according to the law firm. Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American, was shot and killed in the middle of the night in her Kentucky apartment in 2020 and became an icon of the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

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