Tyre Nichols marched to the beat of his own drum. 

Following a procession led by a foursome of drummers at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church on Wednesday, Feb. 1, a funeral was hosted for Nichols, who died Jan. 10 after he fell victim to police brutality three days prior.

At around 10 a.m., there were reports of a white hearse arriving at the church. Attendees began trickling in the sanctuary as early as 11 a.m. for the funeral, which was open to the public.

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Despite icy roads and freezing temperatures, hundreds of people attended. Hours before it started, employees salted the walkways around the church. 

His family members said he knew who he was when he was 8 years old. 

“He didn’t live up to the normal Black man hype,” said Jamal Dupree, one of his brothers, during the Wednesday service. “He did not become a basketball player, a football player or a rapper. He set his own path. He made his own way.”

Nichols was a skateboarder. He was a photographer, and he loved sunsets — especially at Shelby Farms Park. 

He was also quiet and peaceful, his friends and family members say. He had a way of touching people’s hearts, and he never judged anybody.

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Those whom Nichols leaves behind include a 4-year-old son, his mother RowVaughn Wells, his stepfather Rodney Wells, his sister Keyana Dixon, his brothers Jamal Dupree and Michael Cutrer, and his godsister La’Toya Yizar. 

Nichols was the youngest of four siblings. Dixon, who is 11 years older than her brother, said when she found out her baby brother died, she lost her faith.

“I screamed at God asking, ‘How can you let this happen?’” Dixon said as tears welled in her eyes. “And then my cries turned to anger, and anger turned to sorrow. When those monsters murdered my baby brother, it left me completely heartbroken.”

Dixon said her brother did not deserve the treatment he received from police, saying he was polite when he asked them, “Please, stop.” 

Yizar read a poem, reading, “I’m just trying to come home. Is that too much to ask? I didn’t break any laws across this path. I skated across barriers designed to hold me back. I’m just trying to come home.”

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The Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist, minister, host of “Politics Nation” and politician, eulogized Nichols during the funeral service. 

“Home is not just a place,” Sharpton said. “Home is not just a physical location. Home is where you are at peace. Home is where you don’t have to keep your dukes up. Home is where you’re not vulnerable. Home is where everything is right.”

Wednesday’s funeral was originally set to begin at 10:30 a.m., but because of the inclement weather and road and travel conditions, it was pushed back to 1 p.m. 

Sharpton lamented the night that led to Nichols’ death. Officers in the Memphis Police Department’s now-defunct SCORPION unit attempted to arrest Nichols for a supposed case of reckless driving on Jan. 7, although Memphis Police Department Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis later said she could not substantiate those claims. 

Officers pulled Nichols out of his car at Ross and Raines Roads in southeast Memphis and forcibly held him down, deploying pepper spray and a Taser gun at him, despite his compliance.

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Nichols, seemingly afraid, escaped their stronghold and ran toward home. Officers caught up with him at Castlegate Lane and Bear Creek Cove, just 80-100 yards from the home he shared with his mother and stepfather. Officers punched, kicked and hit him with a baton while he cried out for his mother.

His injuries landed him in the hospital on life support. He suffered from cardiac arrest and kidney failure. His face was swollen and bruised, and his nose was curved in an S shape. 

“We understand there are concerns about public safety … but you don’t fight crime by becoming criminals yourself,” Sharpton said.

Sharpton spoke prior to the service during a press conference Tuesday, Jan. 31, at Mason Temple Church of God in Christ, where Martin Luther King Jr. made his last speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” 55 years ago. He referenced King again during his eulogy Wednesday.

“I believe when he looked over, he could see a Barack Obama become president, and I believe when he went to the mountaintop, he could look over and see Kamala Harris, sitting as vice president,” Sharpton said during the funeral service Wednesday. “I believe when he looked over to the mountaintop, he saw Black police chiefs. He didn’t expect you to disgrace him.”

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was one of the guests. She was seated between civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nichols’ family, and Nichols’ mother and stepfather.

The families of fellow police brutality victims George Floyd and Breonna Taylor also were in attendance, and so was filmmaker Spike Lee. 

Harris issued a statement on Twitter on Friday, Jan. 27, the day the video footage of Nichols’ deadly encounter with police was released. In her statement, Harris said Congress must pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to address the “persistent issue of police misconduct and use of excessive force” in America. 

“This violent act was not in pursuit of public safety,” Harris said during the funeral. “Because one must ask was not it in the interest of keeping the public safe that Tyre Nichols would be with us today.”

Residents in Memphis have also called on local and state lawmakers to pass laws and ordinances surrounding police brutality, training and hiring.

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At the press conference at Mason Temple on Tuesday, Van Turner, president of the NAACP Memphis Branch, called for the Tennessee General Assembly to pass what he called the Tyre Nichols Police Reform Act, to address police training and hiring statewide.

During the funeral service, Crump acknowledged the five officers who were seen beating Nichols in video footage were terminated, arrested and charged within 20 days. 

“I know we can’t bring Tyre back,” Crump said. “But in this call to action, we established his legacy. His legacy will be more than equal justice. It will be the blueprint going forward.”

Rodney Wells said the video footage of Nichols’ beating differed greatly from the initial narrative of what happened provided by police.

“It was surrounded by lies and deceit,” he said. “Trying to cover it up. But as they say, what’s done in the dark always comes to light.”

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RowVaughn Wells said what keeps her going is knowing her son is still with her. 

“He’s been taken home,” she said.

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