Tyre Nichols: GoFundMe launched by mom Row Vaughn Wells raises over $600k in less than 24 hours
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: Tyre Nichols' mother, Row Vaughn Wells, launched a memorial fund on Friday, January 27, and has now raised more than $600,000 as of Saturday afternoon, January 28. The fund that aims at raising $700,000 is nearing its goal in less than a day. The GoFundMe was launched to help the family meet the expenses of mental health services and for the time she and her husband Rodney Row Vaughn Wells will take to mourn the loss of their son and not being able to work during this phase.
Nichols, 29, died after succumbing to his injuries from the brutal beatings of five Memphis police officers during a traffic stop. “My husband and I have had our entire world turned upside down by what happened to our son. We are two hardworking, loving parents, that now have to turn our full-time attention to seeking proper justice for our son,” Wells wrote. She also stated that part of the funds raised would be dedicated to a memorial skate park built in her son's name. She wrote, “We want to build a memorial skate park for Tyre, in honor of his love for skating and sunsets."
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Tyre Nichols’s mother has started a GoFundMe to cover the cost of the family’s mental health services and to establish a memorial skate park in Memphis in his honor. If you are able to contribute, please join me in doing so. https://t.co/XUitKAAJYJ
— Senator Andrew Gounardes (@Sen_Gounardes) January 28, 2023
Memorial fund raises in the wake of protests across US
On January 7, Nichols, a FedEx worker and father of a four-year-old son, was viciously beaten "beyond recognition until he became unconscious," his mother wrote. The five former Memphis officers - Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith - confronted Nichols when he was pulled over for suspected "reckless driving."
Three days after the incident, he died at the hospital where he was admitted. The officers have been charged with second-degree murder among other charges of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression. After posting a bond between $250,000 and $350,000 bail, all five former officers were released, the New York Post reported.
The troubled video of the brutal beatings was released to the public on Friday, January 27. A nationwide protest took place after the body-cam footage revealed the horrifying scenes near Nichols' mother's home showing the victim being tasered by the officers after he was pepper-sprayed and being pummeled. He “was known as someone you know when he comes through the door he wants to give you a hug” and added that “he wouldn’t hurt a fly. He had never been in trouble with the law, not even a parking ticket,” Wells wrote.
