PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — On Tuesday, Portland leaders, as well as the NAACP, held a vigil for Tyre Nichols, who died after being brutally beaten by Memphis police officers.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said the video of Nichols being beaten was hard to watch.
“To see that happen at the hands of other officers is really tough,” he said.
Lovell also said he felt like it was important to be at the vigil on Tuesday to show they’re impacted by what happened.
“We’ve been working hard at this for a long time. We’ve been in our work with the DOJ for 10 years,” he said. “We want to focus on giving the best service possible.”
Local faith leaders and the NAACP called for police reform and said their mission is to fight for justice, peace and reconciliation.
“We have a lot of problems to solve,” said NAACP President James Posey. “We have issues around police accountability.”
Additionally, Posey added that Portland’s Black police officers are “some of the best human beings on the planet.”
Nichols was just 29 when he died. According to his family, he was a family man with a passion for skateboarding and photography. Video of police beating him was released Friday and protests around the country ensued.
Mayor Wheeler’s office said he had planned to attend, but had jury duty.
