“Tyre Nichols was a loving father to his young son, an avid photographer and skateboarder, and a valued member of his community. Our thoughts go out to the family and loved ones of Tyre Nichols, who have been shrouded in grief over these last few weeks. As a mother and grandmother, my heart aches for Tyre’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, and entire family as they mourn. Hearing his mother express how she felt when hearing her son call for her is heartbreaking.

“Tyre should be alive, and the police brutality that took his life is deplorable and demands accountability. We have lost too many of our children, mothers, fathers and family members to police violence in this country and it must end.

“As we pursue accountability, it’s important that we prioritize measures to support the bereaved and our communities in their healing and recovery from this severe trauma forced upon us to repeatedly endure. We know our communities have emotions of anger, sadness, and much more, and encourage non-violent protest and others forms of open expression. I uplift the public request by RowVaughn Wells, who asked parents not to share the video with their children, and for people to engage in peaceful protests. It is also critical that restraint be shown by police and any misconduct against non-violent protest be met with zero-tolerance. Moving forward as a city, we must maintain our focus inward to the necessary changes in policy that we can enact to end all types of discriminatory policing and police violence with the same vigor that we seek to stop all violence against our communities.” 

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