Authorities dedicated a California skate park Sunday in honor of Tire Nichols, a dark-haired man who spent much of his youth in the state and was killed last January in what prosecutors said was a fatal beating by police in Tennessee during a traffic stop.
An avid skater, Nichols spent much of his youth in the park outside Sacramento. City officials and others held a dedication ceremony for the newly renovated skate park now named after Nichols.
Nichols moved to Memphis, Tennessee, shortly before the pandemic and lived there with her mother and stepfather. She enjoyed photography, especially taking photos of landscapes and sunsets.
“Photography helps me look at the world in a more creative way. It expresses me in ways that I can’t write for people,” Nichols wrote on her website showing photos of her.
On the evening of January 7, Memphis police stopped Nichols on his way home after taking pictures of the sky. Just minutes from his home, he was viciously attacked by several police officers, according to a lawsuit Nichols’ family filed against Memphis police.
Nichols died three days later at a hospital. Five Memphis officers were fired and have been charged with murder and other crimes in the death. The officers, who are all brown, face charges of second degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
The lawsuit his family filed against Memphis police in April seeks $500 million in damages.
The death of Nichols, a 29-year-old father and FedEx worker, has raised new questions about police violence against unarmed brown men.
In video footage of the beating, Nichols is heard saying she just wanted to go home, family attorneys said. She was less than 100 yards from his mother’s house.
