Nichols’ family spoke out against the department over the weekend, joining protesters in calling for transparency. Wells told NBC affiliate WMC that his stepson was placed on a dialysis machine after the stop.
Wells spoke at Nichols’ memorial service Tuesday, talking about their instant connection.
“From the first day that I met Tyre, I was Pops. I was Dad,” Wells said. “He embraced me. The first Father’s Day, he brought me a Father’s Day present, and he was so happy. … Tyre is a great person.”
LaToya Yiza, whose mother was Nichols’ godmother, remembered Nichols as a baby. She said they grew up like siblings, walking to school together when she was in high school and Nichols was in elementary school.
“He was just a happy kid, just so goofy,” Yiza said at the memorial, getting emotional. “You’d walk in and he’d just be saying the craziest thing. … I’m gonna miss him. To see the man he turned out to be — he was a good man. He did not deserve this.”
She began crying, expressing anger that she and her family weren’t there when he died.
“I’m just so mad, because we would have fought for him,” Yiza said. “We miss him.”
Angelina Paxton, who traveled from California for the service, joked that Nichols was known to clean out his friends’ refrigerators.
“The way to this man’s heart was through his stomach, I swear,” Paxton said. “I just want to say on behalf of everyone in California who loved Tyre … we all stand behind you.”
She added that “everyone is a friend of Tyre.”
“This man walked into a room, and everyone loved him.”
The Associated Press contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
