Tyre Nichols’ parents to attend State of the Union

RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells accept the invitation

The parents of Tyre Nichols will attend Joe Biden’s State of the Union address next week, according to reports.

After accepting an invitation from the Congressional Black Caucus, Nichols’s mother and father – RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells – will attend the president’s address.

Chairperson of the caucus, Steven Horsford, said he spoke with Nichols’ parents “to first extend our condolences to them, to let them know that we stand with them, to ask them what they want from us at this moment”.

Mr Horsford was quoted as saying by MSNBC: “Everyone should agree people should be safe, safe in our communities and law enforcement has an obligation to do its job.”

He is also pushing for a meeting of the parents with Mr Biden.

“We are calling on our colleagues in the House and Senate to jumpstart negotiations now and work with us to address the public health epidemic of police violence that disproportionately affects many of our communities,” he said.

Nichols, a Black man, died days after he was yanked from his car and beaten up by five Memphis Police Department officers on 7 January. He was 29. He lived with his parents and worked the second shift at FedEx with his stepfather.

The bodycam footage of the incident showed police officers beating the FedEx worker for three minutes. They also used pepper spray on him and tased him as Nichols tried to run away.

He had to be hospitalised in critical condition. The five officers – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr, and Justin Smith – were fired from the police department.

They have also been charged with murder.

Meanwhile, Mr Biden said: “Like so many, I was outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Tyre Nichols’ death.”

He continued: “It has a lot to say and do with the image of America. It has a lot to do with whether or not we are the country that we say we are.”