Tyre Nichols funeral: Thousands attending Memphis ceremony

Thousands of people are gathering at Memphis' Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church to mourn the death of 29-year-old father Tyre Nichols.

Mr Nichols died three days after he was beaten by police following a traffic stop.

Five officers were charged last week in his murder.

Family and friends as well as national figures, including Vice President Kamala Harris, are in Tennessee to pay their respects to Mr Nichols.

Graphic bodycam footage of Mr Nichols' encounter with police released last week showed him being brutally punched, kicked, pepper-sprayed and hit by police officers.

Mr Nichols was black, as are the police officers now charged with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and oppression.

The fatal assault has sparked nationwide peaceful protests against police violence.

Mr Nichols' funeral began at 13:00 local time (19:00 GMT), after it was pushed back due to bad weather.

The families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, both of whom died as a result of police violence, are also attending the funeral, where civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton will give a eulogy.

Ben Crump, the high-profile attorney representing Mr Nichols' family, is also expected to deliver a "call to action" at the ceremony.

The funeral is expected to focus on celebrating Mr Nichols' live instead of the horrifying footage of his encounter with police.

Mr Nichols grew up in Sacramento, California before moving to Memphis in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic to be closer to his mother. He was father to a four-year-old son, and worked at FedEx with his own stepfather, Rodney Wells.

The youngest of four children, Mr Nichols is described by family members as a loving son who enjoyed skateboarding and photography.

"Nobody's perfect, but he was damn near," his mother, RowVaughn Wells, said of her son.

Civil rights activists and the family's lawyers have said police culture is responsible for his death and have called for reforms in the wake of the incident.

Memphis police chief Cerelyn Davis has said officers' treatment of Mr Nichols "defied humanity".