SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The family of Sacramento Native Tyre Nichols held a balloon release at the capitol to honor him, Friday.
"My brother was from Sacramento. This is where he was born, and unfortunately where he died it was in Memphis, but we felt the need to do something.," said his sister at the memorial.
Nichols was beaten to death by five Memphis, Tennessee police officers back in January.
His family says he had moved to Memphis in 2020, but spent a great deal of time in Sacramento. His friends say he worked at the Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights and was known for making others smile.
While family and others released balloons in his honor in Sacramento, a growing memorial can be seen on the street corner where the violent encounter happened in Memphis.
"It's a lot going on in memphis. Every single day they are doing something. We felt we were kind of out of the loop. What can we do here for him?" said Nichols' sister.
Nichols' parents say they believe a Memphis Courtroom is where their road to justice begins.
The five former police officers accused of killing Nichols all entered not guilty pleas in court appearances last month.
They're facing second degree murder and other charges and are accused of letting Nichols suffer from his wounds after they were seen violently beating him on police camera video the night of Jan. 7.
Police say the beating originally began as a traffic stop, but body worn cameras cannot prove that.
"They didn't even have the courage to look at me in my face after what they did to my son," said RowVaughn Wells, Nichols' mother. "So they are going to see me at every court date until we get justice for my son."
The list of officers and fire department personnel who have been fired or disciplined over this continues to grow. Four other first responders have now lost their jobs and 9 are under investigation.
