Tyre Nichols’ funeral is set to begin at 1 p.m. local time at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church.
Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the funeral, her office said. The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy.
The vice president was personally asked to attend by Nichols’ family after she spoke to the 29-year-old’s mother, RowVaughn Wells, and stepfather, Rodney Wells, by phone earlier Tuesday.
Nichols’ funeral service is being held five days after the city of Memphis released videos showing the brutal police assault on him Jan. 7.
Since the release, the Memphis Police Department’s Scorpion unit, whose members included the five fired officers charged with second-degree murder, has been permanently deactivated.
Ben Crump, the lawyer representing the Nichols family, told the publication that Harris consoled the mother.
“We’re pleased that she accepted their invitation. Mr. and Mrs. Wells are grateful for the vice president reaching out to them during this heartbreaking time and her sensitivity on the call.”
Ben Crump said
Accompanying Harris to Memphis will be Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor and current White House director of public engagement, and senior adviser Mitch Landrieu, the report said.
Nichols died three days after he was beaten by Memphis police officers following a routine traffic stop on Jan. 7.
Video of the deadly encounter, which shows a brutal attack by five black officers on Nichols, who was also black, was released Friday night by the Memphis Police Department.
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