Dozens gather at vigil for Tyre Nichols in Orlando
Dozens gathered in Lake Eola Park to remember Tyre Nichols Saturday.
The 29-year-old died last month three days after being beaten by police in Memphis.
Congressman Maxwell Frost came together with members of the community to honor Nichols.
"Today, it's about celebrating his beautiful life," Frost said. "The beautiful life of a young man that was taken too soon. But also talking about what's next."
He says what happened shows that conversations need to be had about how we think about public safety.
"When we think about public safety we think about one thing and that's policing, and policing does play a huge part in public safety. But we also need the community to be at the table too," Frost said.
State Rep. Anna Eskamani spoke at the gathering as well.
"To see what happened to this young man, it breaks all of our hearts," Eskamani said.
She says in Memphis, action was taken against officers faster than seen in other situations. But she says not enough change has happened.
"Lessons are being learned, but at the same time, the system is broken," Eskamani said. "The system needs to be reformed. We need to ensure that training is high quality and that we also address this bystander syndrome. I mean this is a constant problem and it happens in every sector."
Younger leaders spoke at the vigil too, including Keten Abebe, a student at University High School and a member of Black Leaders of tomorrow.
She spoke about watching the video of Tyre Nichols for the first time.
"It was a lot of hopelessness presides over you and fear," Abebe said.
She says watching the video pushed the need for change.
"Because that should not be happening," Abebe said. "That's not normal. Police are supposed to protect and defend the people that they serve. They should not be taking away their lives."
She'd like to see that change in her lifetime.
"I'm hopeful," Abebe said. "I really am hopeful, especially with Generation Z."