MEMPHIS, Tenn. —
On the one-year anniversary of the traffic stop that led to Tyre Nichols death, his family honored his life with a candlelight vigil in the place where he was beaten.
On January 7, 2023, Tyre Nichols was beaten by five now-former Memphis Police officers near Ross and Raines Roads. He died in the hospital three days later.
One year later, and his family is still searching for answers.
“It's been a year and I still don't know why this happened to my brother,” said Keyana Dixon.
Dozens of family members, activists and supporters of Nichols gathered at the intersection where he was beaten, right down the street from his parents’ home. His mother RowVaughn Wells said Tyre was a sweet man, and losing him was one of the worst things that has ever happened to her.
"He's never been in a fight before and to have to be in a fight with the people that were supposed to protect and serve him,” said Wells.
The goal of the vigil was to honor Nichols’ life by sharing some of their favorite memories of him, while also calling for accountability and justice.
Following Nichols’ death, the Memphis City Council passed a police reform ordinance, which included ending the use of unmarked cars for traffic stops and ending low-level traffic stops. That ordinance was rejected by Mayor Jim Strickland, but Police Chief C.J. Davis insisted that her department has been following the ordinance anyway. New Mayor Paul Young promised to enforce the ordinance.
"We really want to see the mayor put together a tangible plan and also the police officers take action and follow the ordinances as they're supposed to,” said vigil organizer Amber Sherman.
Activists said they will continue fighting for Nichols until justice is served.
"We can continue to hold on to our flame of hope. If we continue to fight with all we've got, we will wake up to a different city one of these days,” said District 86 Tennessee Representative Justin Pearson.
Nichols was a California Native that loved to skateboard. At the same time as the vigil in Memphis, there was another vigil going on in his hometown of Sacramento at the Tyre Nichols Skate Park.