Por Katharine Jackson y Ahmed Aboulenein
Jan 29 (Reuters) – The lawyer representing the family of Tire Nichols, the black man who was fatally beaten by Memphis police officers, called on the U.S. Congress to pass a police reform bill on Sunday, saying Nichols’ mother hoped the tragedy could lead to a “greater good”
“Shame on us if we don’t use his tragic death to finally pass the George Floyd Police Justice Act,” Ben Crump said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The five officers are scheduled to appear before Shelby County Criminal Court Judge James Jones at 9 a.m. on February 17, according to court records.
Crump said he and Nichols’s family had spoken with President Joe Biden on Friday and urged him to use Nichols’ death to rally support for passage of the bill.
Nichols’ mother is coping with her son’s death believing he was destined to change the world, Crump said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
“She believes in her heart that Tire was sent here on a mission and that there is going to be a greater good that will come out of this tragedy.”
The “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” was introduced in 2021 after George Floyd was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes, sparking worldwide protests over racial injustice.
The bill, which aims to end aggressive tactics by law enforcement, passed the Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives in 2021 but stalled in the Senate. On Thursday, Biden asked Congress to send the legislation to his table.
(Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by David Lawder, Editing by Ross Colvin and Nick Zieminski, Editing in Spanish by Juana Casas)