At the residential intersection of Ross Road and Castlegate Lane in southeast Memphis, RowVaughn Wells huddled among loved ones in the cold Sunday night .
“A year ago today, I lost the most precious thing that god has ever given me – well one of them because I have four precious, beautiful kids,” she told the dozens who had gathered at a candlelight vigil to honor her son, Tyre Nichols.
It was here – a short distance from Wells’ home – that one year ago officers violently took the 29-year-old into custody after he was pulled from his car and fled on foot from an alleged traffic stop several blocks away.
Across the street from Sunday’s gathering, a police surveillance camera attached to a utility pole blinked overhead. It’s the same camera – along with body camera footage – that captured five officers beating Nichols before they handcuffed him on Jan. 7, 2023.
Footage showed one using a baton to strike him and others repeatedly punching and kicking him – at times in the head. Nichols died in the hospital three days later.
Wearing sneakers her son gifted her last Christmas, Wells recalled the painful details of seeing him in the hospital on life support.
But, it’s not the memory she reaches for when she thinks of him.
“He was the sweetest. That child would give you the clothes off of his back if he felt you needed it more than he did,” she said. “He was just a quiet, gentle person.”
The five officers involved in the physical encounter were fired and have been charged with second degree murder, along with separate federal charges relating to civil rights violations.
One former officer, Desmond Mills Jr. has pleaded guilty in federal court and intends to do so in state court as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. The others are slated to go to trial this year.
In the wake of Nichols’ death, Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis disbanded the special crime task force the officers were a part of, called the SCORPION unit, and the Department of Justice opened a civil so-called patterns or practices investigation into the Memphis Police Department to determine if there are systemic issues.
Nichols’ family is also suing the City of Memphis for $550 million.
Over the past year, Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells, said he’s been comforted by an the outpouring of support.
“Tyre said that he was going be famous one day, and he is,” Rodney said. “Tyre Nichols’ name is known nationwide…worldwide.”
