‘How Tire Nichols Should Be Remembered’: Skateboarding Video Posted By Friends
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Tire Nichols’ friends posted a heartwarming video of him skating as they urged the public to remember him as “living his best life.”
The two-minute clip, which shows Nichols performing skateboard tricks on a bright, sunny day, went viral on social media as users paid tribute to the “beautiful” boy.
Graphic body camera footage of Nichols being fatally beaten by five police officers was released on Friday and showed the 29-year-old repeatedly crying for his mother.
But ahead of its release, friends of the keen skater and his father said they wanted their own video of him to outshine the ‘appalling’ body camera footage from the moments before his death.
Nichols was savagely beaten to death by five police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this month.
Posting on Twitter, Mai Perkins wrote: “Before the Memphis Police Department releases video of 5 MPD officers murdering Tire Nichols during a routine traffic stop, and that egregious video inevitably goes viral, I want amplify THIS video of Tire LIVING your best.” life.’
She added: ‘By posting this video of Tire Nichols practicing his trade, I wanted to extend to him in death the #DIGNITY4BlackBodies he deserved in life.
“I knew that once the body camera was released, the chances of erasing those images from our psyche would be impossible.”
Social media users agreed with the sentiment.
One wrote: ‘This is how he should be remembered. Sweet man living his best skater life. My heart is breaking for his mom and his family.’
Another said: “Thank you for honoring the life of a life instead of giving airtime to the subhumans who thought they would get away with the egregious takeover of a life.”
His friends and family have also posted pictures of Tire showing off his skating tricks so he can be remembered “practicing his trade.”
Tire was known as a keen skater who would record himself showing off his impressive tricks.
Friends and family have described Nichols as a “free spirit” and a keen skater.
Angela Paxton, a lifelong friend, told the local newspaper The Commercial Appeal: ‘He was his own person and he didn’t care if he didn’t fit into what a traditional black man in California was supposed to look like.
“She had such a free spirit and skating gave her wings.”
Nichols was pulled over by Memphis police on January 7 for alleged reckless driving.
The footage shows several unmarked police cars surrounding Nichols as he the officers drag him from the driver’s seat as one yells, ‘Get out of the fucking car.’
Nichols was hospitalized and died of his injuries three days later in the city where he lived with his mother and stepfather and worked at FedEx.
The five officers involved in the murder faced second-degree murder charges, with the district attorney saying that although they played different roles, “everyone is responsible.”
Nichols, 29, died three days after being admitted to hospital this month after a brutal beating by five Memphis police officers.
Tire’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, posted a GoFundMe with a touching tribute on Friday, and by Sunday, the figure had passed $1 million.
The Memphis Police Department disbanded the SCORPION unit to which the officers belonged on Saturday, as protests raged in US cities a day after harrowing video of the attack was released.
Scorpion stands for Street Crime Operations to Restore Peace to our Neighborhoods.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn ‘CJ’ Davis disbanded the unit on Saturday.
“It is in everyone’s best interest to permanently disable the Scorpion unit,” he said in a statement.
A GoFundMe page set up for Nichols has now amassed more than $1 million.
His mother wrote on the page: ‘My son, Tire Nichols, was pulled over on suspicion of ‘reckless driving’ on January 7, 2023. There is no evidence to support this claim.
The five police officers were fired on January 20, and on January 26 they were arrested and charged with Nichols’ murder, as well as kidnapping, assault, and misconduct.
Nearly a thousand people gathered last night at the Oscar Grant Plaza in Oakland, California, to protest
“In addition, the police claim that my son left the scene on foot. It turned out that he was just trying to get to my house for security, which was only a few blocks from where the incident occurred.
‘My baby was just trying to get home to safety in my arms. Tire was unarmed, non-threatening, and respectful of the police throughout the entire encounter!’
The grieving mother posted a photo of Tire lying in the hospital with his face battered after his arrest and shortly before he succumbed to his injuries.
She added: “During my son’s interaction with the police, he was beaten unconscious.”
She added: “His cousin saw him in the hospital, swollen and disfigured, like he was some scary monster.”
Nichols’s mother hailed him as “kind, kind, and jolly” and a great skater.
She said: “He was known as someone you know when he walks in the door he wants to give you a hug and he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“He had never been in trouble with the law, not even a parking ticket. He was an honest man, a wonderful son, and kind to everyone. He was quirky and true to himself, and the loss of him will be felt nationally.”