Vice President Harris’ office announced that she will attend the funeral of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols in Memphis on Wednesday.
Nichols’ funeral will be held at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, where Harris will join several other White House officials, including Keisha Lance Bottoms, senior adviser to the President for public engagement, Mitch Landrieu, senior adviser and infrastructure implementation coordinator, and Tara Murray, deputy director of the Office of Public Engagement.
Five Memphis officers—Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Emmit Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr.—were fired and have each been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression in the January 7 beating of Nichols that led to his death in a hospital three days later.
Two other Memphis police officers, Preston Hemphill and one yet unidentified, have been placed on administrative leave. Meanwhile, three EMTs have been fired for their “actions or inactions” when called to the scene where pole-camera video shows that between the time the EMTs arrived and an ambulance arrived, first responders repeatedly walked away from Nichols, while Nichols intermittently fell upon his side.
Harris on Tuesday spoke by phone with Nichols’ mother and stepfather, RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells, to express her condolences, according to her office.
Nichols’ parents are also set to attend the State of the Union on February 7 after being invited by Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
President Biden has, in the meantime, scheduled a meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus at the White House on Thursday to discuss police reforms in the wake of Nichols’ death.
