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What we know about Tire Nichols’ funeral this Wednesday

Tyre Nichols

Editor’s note: This article contains explicit descriptions of violence that may be disturbing.

( Spanish) — After weeks of tragic accounts of the death of Tire Nichols, a 29-year-old man who died after being brutally beaten by five Memphis Police officers, his family will hold his funeral this Wednesday in a ceremony attended by various local and federal officials, and is expected to receive extensive press coverage.

Nichols was hospitalized after his arrest on January 7 and died three days later from his injuries, according to police. Five Memphis Police Department officers, also black, were fired after an internal investigation and face criminal charges.

Last Friday the authorities revealed the violent images of the beating that Nichols suffered, sparking widespread protests in several cities in the United States. While the Memphis Police Chief, Cerelyn “CJ” Davis, condemned the conduct of the agents and said that she continues to investigate other uniformed officers.

Despite his tragic death, mourners are expected to arrive at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis to celebrate Nichols’ life rather than focus on the harrowing images of the beating that left him in a hospital bed for days with the badly swollen and bruised face before his death, sparking nationwide protests.

Nichols’ funeral will take place less than a week after the release Friday night of footage of the attack on Nichols that rocked a nation accustomed to videos of police brutality, especially against people of color. All five officers charged in Nichols’ death are black.

Here’s what we know about Nichols’ funeral.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump (right) accompanies Rodney Wells and RowVaughn Wells, stepfather and mother of Tire Nichols, to a news conference on January 27, 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

When will the funeral be?

Nichols’ funeral is scheduled for February 1 at 10:30 am local time (11:30 am ET) at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, located at 70 N Bellevue Boulevard.

The coffin is expected to be closed during the funeral, according to a Church statement.

Who will officiate the ceremony?

The priest Lawrence Turnersenior pastor of the church and secretary-treasurer of the Board of The National Action Network, a civil rights advocacy group, will officiate the ceremony.

Also present will be the Rev. Al Sharpton, a well-known civil rights activist, who will deliver a eulogy for Nichols, according to a Church statement. In an achingly familiar role, Sharpton will deliver a eulogy that will pay tribute to Nichols’ life and serve as a clarion call for justice.

On Tuesday, the families of Sharpton and Nichols gathered at the Mason Temple Church of God In Christ in Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I’ve been to the top of the mountain” speech the night before he they will kill him

“We will continue on behalf of Tire to head to the top of Martin’s Mountain,” Sharpton said from the “sacred ground” where MLK delivered his speech 55 years ago.

Sharpton said the fatal police beating of Nichols “is an embarrassment to this country.”

“People all over the world watched videotape of a man, unarmed, without provocation, being beaten to death by law enforcement officers,” Sharpton said.

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Representing other Black people killed by police, Tamika Palmer, whose daughter Breonna Taylor was fatally shot at her Louisville, Kentucky, home by police during a botched raid in March 2020, is expected to attend the service.

Also expected is Philonise Floyd, the younger brother of George Floyd, whose name reverberated across the country following his death in May 2020 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck and back for more than 9 minutes.

Vice President Kamala Harris is also expected to attend the funeral, according to a White House official. Harris will join other high-level officials in the Biden administration, including the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Keisha Lance Bottoms, and senior adviser to the president, Mitch Landrieu.

There will be live broadcast

The Church reported that for this funeral service there will be a live broadcast through its social networks, on Facebook and YouTube, it says in the statement.

There is also expected to be a press conference right after the ceremony.

Tyre Nichols

On January 27, 2023, the City of Memphis released explicit footage showing the fatal police assault of Nichols, a 29-year-old, who died three days after a brutal beating by five police officers. (Credit: JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

— With reporting from ‘s Nick Valencia, Jamiel Lynch and Phil Mattingly, Christina Zdanowicz, Jaide Timm-Garcia and Nouran Salahieh.

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