Portland NAACP, Black community leaders hold prayer vigil for Tyre Nichols

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Through song and prayer, the Portland NAACP, Chief Chuck Lovell and other Black Community leaders gathered at the Oregon Convention Center Tuesday to mourn 29-year-old Tyre Nichols who was killed in Memphis earlier this month.

“How many young men, women, boys and girls will have to suffer at the hands of those who have sworn to protect them?” Pastor Carland Allen from Greater Mr. Gillard Missionary Baptist Church said.

They also stood together to condemn the actions of those former Memphis police officers accused of killing Nichols, saying violence in policing needs to end and Portland and the rest of the country needs police reform now.

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“The way the current structure is, we’ll be here again. How long until the next one? How long before brother Tyre is forgotten, and the next name is on the billboard? The next name is being prayed for. Prayer without substance, I’m not a religious person, is a wish,” Metro Councilor Ashton Simpson said.

Portland’s NAACP President, James Posey, said there’s still a lot of work to do, but it starts with tangible actions.

“We got to get into these institutions we have to hold these politicians accountable; we have to hold ourselves accountable. We have to clean up our community, we have to build on what we already have. We’re not out here just waving signs and having an event for the sake of having an event,” Posey said.

Lovell said the bureau is still negotiating with the union to get body cameras for officers and said the bureau has already instituted something called ‘ABLE’ training for sworn officers.

“We instituted the ABLE program - which is active bystandership for law enforcement that really talks about and teaches officers how to intervene when they see things going wrong and what the right steps are. For us, we want people to know that’s not what we’re about here in Portland,” Lovell said.

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