MEMPHIS PASTOR PRAYS FOR PEACE
Cleric reiterates call for calm issued by Tyre Nichols’ family
The pastor at the Memphis church where Tyre Nichols’ family spoke from the pulpit urging peace after his killing reiterated the call for calm Sunday following the release of video showing the fatal beating by police.
Cities nationwide have braced for protests after body camera footage was released Friday showing Memphis officers beating 29year-old Nichols, who died of his injuries three days after the Jan. 7 attack. Protests have been scattered and nonviolent.
“We’ve had calm so far, which is what we have been praying for,” Pastor Kenneth Thomas said before the service began at Mt. Olive Cathedral Church. “And, of course, we hope that continues.”
Thomas also offered a prayer for Nichols’ family, asking God to “shower them with your blessings.”
Later, more than a dozen protesters marched to a Memphis police station not far from the beating, pounding on the door and demanding to be let in. Getting no response, they made their way to a nearby gate, guarded by three officers.
Some protesters taunted the officers with vulgarity, and all chanted: “Quit your job!” The protest remained peaceful.
The protesters then observed a three-minute silence to match how long Nichols was beaten.
When it concluded, protester Jennifer Cain yelled: “Say his name!” And the group responded: “Tyre Nichols!”
The loss is “still very emotional” for the family, a lawyer representing them said Sunday, but they are using all their energy to advocate for reforms both in Memphis and on the federal level.
“His mother is having problems sleeping but she continues to pray with the understanding, as she believes in her heart, that Tyre was sent here for an assignment, and that there will be a greater good that comes from this tragedy,” attorney Ben Crump said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Crump welcomed disbanding the city’s Scorpion unit, which Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis announced Saturday, citing a “cloud of dishonor” from the newly released video.
Davis acted a day after the video was released, saying she listened to Nichols’ relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision. Her announcement came as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with the violence of the officers, who, like Nichols, are Black.
The officers involved in Nichols’ beating — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols’ death. They face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.