Kamala Harris to attend Tyre Nichols funeral as prosecutors weigh extra expenses

United States Vice-President Kamala Harris will attend the funeral of the Black man who died three days after Memphis law enforcement officials savagely beat him following a site visitors cease.

Memphis,UPDATED: Feb 1, 2023 07:10 IST

People participate in a protest after the dying of Tyre Nichols, the Black man who was fatally crushed by Memphis law enforcement officials, in Memphis, Tennessee, US. (Photo: Reuters)

By Reuters: Vice-President Kamala Harris will attend Wednesday’s funeral of Tyre Nichols, the Black man who died three days after Memphis law enforcement officials savagely beat him following a site visitors cease earlier this month, the White House stated on Tuesday.

Nichols will likely be eulogized by the Reverend Al Sharpton at a service at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis on Wednesday morning. Family members of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, who had been killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis in 2020, may also attend.

Meanwhile, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy stated on Tuesday that prosecutors may carry extra legal expenses towards law enforcement officials and others in reference to Nichols’ deadly beating, after mounting criticism over how Mulroy’s workplace and the Memphis Police Department have dealt with the case.

ALSO READ | Kamala Harris: The inspiring story of many firsts

Five officers, all Black, had been charged final week with second-degree homicide and dismissed from the power. The division confirmed on Monday {that a} sixth officer, Preston Hemphill, had been suspended from obligation quickly after the Jan. 7 assault however has not been criminally charged.

After video footage of the lethal encounter with police was made public on Friday, calls have grown louder for native police officers and prosecutors to be extra clear in regards to the circumstances of the incident, on condition that the preliminary police stories don’t match what was seen on the movies.

ALSO READ | I could also be first girl on this workplace, will not be final, says VP-elect Kamala Harris

The household’s lawyer Ben Crump on Tuesday stated that police had not been candid with Nichols’ mom in regards to the incident, which he known as a “police lynching.”

“She thought it was a conspiracy to cover it up from the beginning,” Crump stated on CNN.

In an announcement on Twitter, District Attorney Mulroy stated different officers, hearth division personnel and others who ready documentation of the incident may additionally face legal expenses as extra info turns into out there.

“We are looking at all individuals involved in the events leading up to, during, and after the beating of Tyre Nichols,” his workplace stated, including that the investigation is incomplete.

ALSO READ | Kamala Harris first girl to get US presidential powers briefly. Here’s why

In an obvious reference to Hemphill, the workplace stated an officer current through the preliminary encounter with Nichols may additionally face expenses. Hemphill, who’s white, wore the physique digital camera that captured the primary of 4 movies launched by authorities of the site visitors cease and violent confrontation that adopted, in accordance with his lawyer, Lee Gerald.

In the video, it’s Hemphill who seems to fireside a stun gun at Nichols after Nichols is dragged from his automobile, pressured to the bottom and doused with pepper spray earlier than he breaks free and runs away. The 5 officers who had been later dismissed chased him.

A seventh officer who was not instantly recognized was additionally relieved of obligation with out pay, the division stated on Monday, and that officer has not been charged. His function within the incident has not been disclosed.

Three members of the Memphis Fire Department who responded to the altercation had been dismissed on Monday after investigators discovered Nichols was left handcuffed on the bottom with out medical consideration for almost quarter-hour after the beating.

Police Chief Cerelyn Davis has stated an unspecified variety of officers in addition to the 5 initially charged stay underneath investigation for coverage infractions stemming from Nichols’ arrest.

Posted By:

Manisha Pandey

Published On:

Feb 1, 2023