Tyre Nichols’ Family Attends Biden's State Of The Union Address
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RowVaughn Wells cries as she and husband Rodney Wells attend the funeral service for her son Tyre Nichols at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, on Feb. 1. The couple sat alongside first lady Jill Biden on Tuesday at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address.
The family of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers during a traffic stop, attended President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) invited RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, Nichols’ mother and stepfather, to the address, which takes place just days after Nichols’ funeral in Memphis, Tennessee. Vice President Kamala Harris attended the funeral, and some elected officials have used Nichols’ death to push for police reform in Congress after the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act failed to pass last year.
The Wells family has been thrust into the national spotlight after police officers beat Nichols, 29, on Jan. 7. Body-camera footage of the incident shows officers punching, pepper-spraying and shouting obscenities at Nichols, who died three days later.
Nichols can be heard saying “I didn’t do anything” and “I’m just trying to go home” in the video.
Activists used a graphic photo of Nichols in a hospital bed to raise awareness about the incident and bring national attention to his story.
Six Memphis Police Department officers have been fired, and five face charges including murder and kidnapping. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Department suspended two deputies who were on the scene during the arrest, and the Memphis Fire Department fired three employees who were tasked with rendering aid to Nichols.
The Department of Justice announced Friday it would investigate the Memphis Police Department.
