Biden spoke with Tyre Nichols"s parents Joe Biden spoke with the parents of Tyre Nichols, according to the Washington Post. The paper released a brief clip of the conversation, where the president mentions how Nichols’ father is “devastated” by the death of his son, and invokes his own experience of losing a child: Earlier, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said Biden had been briefed on the video of Nichols’ beating that will be released later today, but has not seen it: Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee released a statement calling for “critical reforms” in the wake of Tyre Nichol’s death, but also asked for demonstrations – expected across the country tonight – to remain peaceful. Here is his statement in full: “My thoughts are w/ Tyre Nichols’ family & the Memphis community. As those who were blessed to call Mr. Nichols family, friend, or neighbor mourn, we must commit to pursuing justice for his death, which feels all too familiar for far too many Americans, especially Black Americans. His killing is a violation of the social contract between law enforcement & the people they are sworn to protect—& people are rightfully demanding accountability, corrective action, & justice. I join Mr. Nichols’ family and President Biden in asking for demonstrations to remain peaceful. We must support the efforts of authorities as they continue their investigation. And elected officials must continue taking steps to create a justice system that is truly equal for all. I’m committed to working w/ Senator Booker and our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to finally achieve critical reforms.” Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr, told the Black community that they should not feel obliged to watch the Tyre Nichols footage once it gets released later today. In a tweet on Friday, King wrote: “You don’t have to watch the video of #TyreNichols being beaten by police. You don’t have to subject yourself to that trauma. It should not require another video of a Black human being dehumanized for anyone to understand that police brutality is an urgent, devastating issue,” she added. Businesses in downtown Memphis have started to board up their store fronts in anticipation of protests as Memphis police prepares to release footage of Tyre Nichols later tonight. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre urged for police reform as she condemned the brutal death of Tyre Nichols in a press briefing on Friday. Jean-Pierre said: “We all must recommit ourselves to the critical work that must be done to advance meaningful reforms … The president continues to believe that in order to deliver real change, we must have accountability when law enforcement officers violate their oaths and we need to build lasting trust between law enforcement, the vast majority of whom wear the badge honorably, and the communities they are sworn to serve and to protect.” Jean-Pierre also urged Congress to approve the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a sweeping legislation aimed to ban chokeholds and “qualified immunity” for law enforcement and create national standards for policing in attempts to improve accountability. The Memphis fire department announced on Friday that it has received full access to the footage of Tyre Nichols. In a Facebook post, the department said: “As a result of the recent criminal investigation into the death of Mr Nichols, the Memphis fire department did not receive full access to the video footage until today. The department is currently reviewing the footage …” The department added that it will be concluding its internal investigation early next week. Two Memphis fire department employees that were involved in the initial care of Nichols were “relieved of duty” earlier this week. The department did not disclose whether the two individuals would eventually return to their duties. Memphis police chief Cerelyn Davis said on Friday that investigators of the Tyre Nichols case have not been able to “substantiate” the police officers’ reckless driving claim. In an interview with NBC, Davis said: “We have not been able to substantiate the cause of the stop, the violation. The only thing that we have right now is the officer saying that Mr Nichols was driving recklessly, initially on the wrong side of the road. “My staff, I asked them to pull all of the video that they can find in the area … and we were unable to find that and we were unable to get that captured on body worn camera as well from the initial officer,” she added. Acclaimed author and anti-racism activist Ibram X Kendi has condemned the beating and death of Tyre Nichols while criticizing police brutality on Friday. In a statement on Twitter, Kendi wrote: “Tyre Nichols should be with us skateboarding and looking up and admiring the sunset. But instead the sadistic scourge of police violence claimed its latest innocent victim. “The history of the police is the racist history of violence. Cops of all races have been empowered and socialized to brutalize and terrorize and exploit and sexually assault and harass and lynch people, particularly Black people with near total impunity. “There’s no reforming an inherently violent institution with a pervasively violent history. How many more Black people have to be brutally killed before we realize the obvious? How many more? How many more?” Several groups are organizing rallies across the country tonight as Memphis police prepares to release footage of Tyre Nichols this evening. According to the Instagram accounts of various chapters of the political party PSL, or Party for Socialism and Liberation, rallies titled “Justice for Tyre Nichols” are scheduled in major cities including New York, Detroit, San Francisco, Asheville and Chicago. Meanwhile, the Youth Communist League is scheduled to host a rally in Philadelphia tonight. Other rallies are set to be held in Dallas and Washington DC. The White House has released more details of Joe Biden’s call with the family of Tyre Nichols. “President Biden spoke with Mrs RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells, Tyre Nichols’ mother and stepfather, this afternoon to directly express his and Dr Biden’s condolences for Tyre Nichols’ death. During the conversation, the president commended the family’s courage and strength,” a readout of the call said. The Guardian’s Maya Yang is now taking over this blog to cover the latest developments in this story. Former vice-president Mike Pence said he takes “full responsibility” for the secret materials found at his residence, CNN reports: Pence’s disclosure this week that documents dating from his time in the White House under Donald Trump were discovered in his Indiana home came after both Joe Biden and Trump were found to have similar materials in their possession. Attorney general Merrick Garland has appointed two special counsels to handle the investigations of the current and ex-presidents’ documents, but hasn’t done the same for Pence. A network of racial justice activist groups is asking the public not to share footage of Tyre Nichols’ fatal beating at the hands of police, which is scheduled for release at 6 pm eastern time. Here is the message from Movement for Black Lives: Separately, the Republican National Committee re-elected Ronna McDaniel as its chair, overcoming concerns about her leadership after the party underperformed in last November’s midterm elections. McDaniel’s main challenger was Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer for Donald Trump who handled his challenge to a subpoena from the January 6 committee. Conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell and former congressman Lee Zeldin were also on the ballot, which McDaniel won easily: Biden spoke with Tyre Nichols"s parents Joe Biden spoke with the parents of Tyre Nichols, according to the Washington Post. The paper released a brief clip of the conversation, where the president mentions how Nichols’ father is “devastated” by the death of his son, and invokes his own experience of losing a child: Earlier, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said Biden had been briefed on the video of Nichols’ beating that will be released later today, but has not seen it: