The community gathered in downtown Fort Myers to honor the memory of Tyre Nichols.

Fort Myers, Florida. A crowd gathered in downtown Fort Myers to pay tribute to 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who was beaten by Memphis police and died in hospital a few days later.

Since his death, communities across the United States have staged pickets and peaceful protests in his honor.

On Wednesday, the day Nichols was buried, southwest Florida residents banded together to do the same.

One of the organizers of the vigil said the purpose of the gathering was to give the community time to come together, mourn and see their way through these dark times.

“You see the police and government officials, they are outraged by what happened. These are not only ordinary citizens,” said Shantel Rhodes, one of the organizers of the action. “We have police departments that say, ‘Hey, this is not normal.’

“Going back to George Floyd a few years ago — because of moves like this, we were able to get some accountability,” said Sarah Wilson, one of the organizers of the vigil. “We are seeing an arrest much faster. We’ve seen the condemnation of Derek Chauvin, but it can’t stop there.”

About 50-60 people gathered for the vigil, including Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson and Mount Hermon Church pastor William Glover.

“I think the problem is complex and I don’t think the answers need to be simple. To find the answer, we need to show the will,” said Pastor Glover. “One thing that the Tyr Nichols situation demonstrated is that it’s really bigger and much more complex than a racial issue, because all the officers involved were African American.”

Pastor Glover added that he believes the incident was not caused by race, but by culture, and wonders what it is in the culture of policing that causes situations like Nichols to happen so often.

Mayor Anderson, a former police officer, also spoke at the vigil. He told Fox 4’s Briana Brownlee that he was pleased to have a picket in the city he represented because it brought more people to the attention of the issues.

“That’s what we need to get more people to understand what’s going on,” Mayor Anderson said. “As a former officer, I worked for 27 years in law enforcement, it makes me sad when I see these incidents in which there is either police misconduct or even the appearance of such. Our job as police officers is to serve and keep our community safe. “

Mayor Anderson added that every time he talks to a new cop, he tells them, “It’s nice to have that cop title, but you’re really a civil servant.”

During the vigil, many pleaded for justice and for changes to be made to end incidents like the one that happened to Nichols.

“Apart from this symbolic moment as elected officials and/or appointed officials, what are they doing to get back to work for systemic change? Changes in policy change practices, so the culture can start to change,” Pastor Glover said.

“What I feel will make a difference is if we take a close look at policing in this country, if we look at ending qualified immunity, if we look at building those relationships to get rid of those lousy apples.”

On Tuesday, seven Memphis officers involved in the incident were released from duty, in addition to two EMTS firefighters and a lieutenant.