SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The calls for change from Sacramentans grow louder in the wake of Tyre Nichols death. A vigil was held Wednesday in his honor where a criminal justice discussion was part of the mourning and grieving of his life.
McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento held the event and allowed attendees to try and process what happened and heal as they held candles, stood together in Nichols’ memory and pushed for change.
Nichols was a 29-year-old who grew up in Sacramento and was beaten by at least 5 Memphis police officers last month and died just three days later.
Isaiah Crockran, who recently graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from the McGeorge School of Law. At the vigil, he recalled the case of Philando Castile who was fatally shot by police in Minnesota during a traffic stop in 2016.
"We went from 2016 to 2019 with no real change, not in gun violence, not in police use of force, not in Sacramento, not in Tennessee,” he said. "It's a bit overwhelming and tiring to have to explain to yourself violence.”
Speakers at the vigil called for legislation to put an end to racial profiling.
“As we know, pretextual stops have not just led to the death of Tyre Nichols,” said Adrian Carpenter, a Professor at McGeorge School of Law. “That is the leading cause for Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, countless individuals."
At a funeral held for Nichols in Memphis, Vice President Kamala Harris called for congress to pass the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act aimed at use of force reform and ending profiling.
"Was he also not entitled to the right to be safe? When we talk about public safety, let us understand what it means in its truest form. Tyre Nichols should have been safe,” said Harris.
A vigil for Nichols will also be held Saturday, Feb. 4 at Skate Ramp on Franklin Boulevard.
