'He loved Tennessee': Friends remember Tyre Nichols, man who died after MPD arrest

Angelina Paxton was in the middle of a cross-country drive when she made a stop in Memphis to see a long-time friend of hers.

The two were sitting on the hood of her car and talking about her potential move to Georgia. Both were from Sacramento, California — where Paxton still lived — and her friend, Tyre Nichols, had recently left in favor of a life in Memphis.

"We were sitting there, watching the Tennessee sunset," Paxton recalled. "I was like, 'Man I just don't know if I'm making the right decision moving to Georgia, Tyre. I'm moving across the country away from everything and everyone I love.'"

Nichols, who Paxton and many others called a "free spirit," knew that feeling well. He had done something similar a few years earlier in 2020.

"I never thought I'd be all the way over here across the country," Nichols told Paxton. "Look at me know, I've never been happier...I don't know if this was the right decision, I just know that this is where I was called to. All you can do is go where you're called to. Call it God, call it the universe, call it what you want — there is a plan for you and you just go, you don't have to question it."

Paxton, who first met Nichols in youth group when they were 11 years old, recalled that moment to a Commercial Appeal reporter Wednesday night as she was reflecting on the life her friend had lived. The reflection came in the wake of his death that followed what police called "a confrontation" during an attempted arrest after a traffic stop for reckless driving. Police haven't given details about what prompted the stop.

The death of Nichols was confirmed to The Commercial Appeal Tuesday, about three days after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was called to investigate the Memphis Police Department's use of force in the incident. He was 29 at the time of his death.

Outside of two traffic tickets in Shelby County, and a court summons for failure to pay a fine associated with one of those stops, state and federal background searches for Nichols show no criminal history.

In the wake of his death, a familiar procedural process has emerged. Memphis police have directed all inquiries about the investigation towards the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. TBI will not comment or release any additional details until its investigation has concluded, and the findings are turned over to Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy.

Should the status quo for the release of body-worn camera footage be upheld, it could be up to a year before footage is released to the public. Memphis police procedures for the release of body-worn camera footage differ from Nashville; Metropolitan Nashville Police Department often releases body camera footage within days of officer-involved shootings.

Nichols' death is the fourth death associated with Memphis police since Mulroy was elected in August 2022.

Friends, family say Nichols shied from conflict

The incident has confused Nichols' friends because they never believed him to be confrontational.

Kris Volker, Nichols' best friend of 22 years, described him as a deeply spiritual person who shied away from conflict, and wasn't known as the type to physically engage with others out of anger.

"He was a loving guy, and loved to make people laugh," Volker told The Commercial Appeal. "We got our first tattoos together when we turned 18. He got a wolf on his leg, because he felt that it was his spirit animal. He cared more about others than himself."

Nichols moved to Memphis in February 2020, after Volker and his wife convinced him to relocate and start fresh. The Volkers were also moving to Tennessee.

It was difficult for Nichols at first, Volker said. But he eventually started working at FedEx and secured a new car. He lived with his mother but was on his way to acquiring his own place.

Nichols, for the most part, kept to himself. Volker and Nichols' mother were his main confidants.

He had a son living in California with his ex. He was not quite ready to date again in Memphis, Volker said.

The idea that Nichols would get into an altercation with police, and then flee, did not make sense to Volker.

"If he did run, it's because he was scared," Volker said. "He's never had to deal with police, and as a Black man he knows better than to fight cops. He was very vocal about BLM. I honestly never thought it would happen to him."

Nichols made impressions on all, built a familial network

After graduating high school in 2011, Nichols found himself living with Volker's family. According to Lori Volker, Kris Volker's mother, they would take vacations together and remembered fondly by everyone he met.

"If you talk to other people, he was a brother, he was a cousin, he was a son," Lori Volker said. "He was just one of those people who are happy-go-lucky."

Volker said she would come home after long shifts — she said she worked long and late hours — and Nichols made her home life easier.

"I'd come home from work late at night and he would have done the dishes, cleaned up the house," Volker said. "He'd just leave you with a nice little light and go, 'Hey mom, I hope you had a good night at work.'"

Elizabeth Cabradilla is a long-time friend of the Volker family. Cabradilla and her husband moved to Conway, Arkansas, from Sacramento in 2017 but had known Nichols and the Volker family since 2011. She recalled the day she believed she bonded with Nichols.

"One day we were at Sunrise Mall and my husband and I walked past a young man who was working for Verizon," Cabradilla said. "I just said, 'I have AT&T and I'm not changing,' and kept walking. All of the sudden my husband Tom is calling my name. I turn around and he says, 'It's Tyre, Marvin [Volker's] son!' He was so sweet about my attitude. I feel we bonded in that moment."

A 'free spirit' who 'loved Tennessee'

Skating was a large part of Nichols' life and, according to Paxton, skate culture in California is an escape from gang culture.

"When you're going to inner-city schools, you either choose to be part of the gang banging and all the crazy stuff, or you choose to be part of sports," Paxton said. "Or you can be an outcast and be part of the street team — that's what we call skaters and long-boarders and roller skaters."

But even among the "street team," Nichols was different, someone who didn't want to be part of inner-city life.

"He didn't subscribe to it," Paxton said. "He was his own person and didn't care if he didn't fit into what a traditional Black man was supposed to be in California. He had such a free spirit and skating gave him his wings."

Nichols was also a photographer. He spent some time at The Art Institute of California - Sacramento before moving to Memphis for a fresh start.

But even a 2,000-mile move did not erase Nichols' impact on people he met in Sacramento.

"Tyre was someone who knew everyone, and everyone had a positive image of him because that's who he was," Paxton said. "Every church knew him; every youth group knew him. He has a very distinctive face, a very distinctive disposition. My whole timeline on every single social media I have is covered in him right now. It's so sad that he's far away from home. We just want to bring him home."

Paxton, however, finds some irony in the way Nichols' life came to a close.

"He would tell me, 'There's something out here — it's so free. This is God's country,'" Paxton told The Commercial Appeal. "That's what he used to tell me all the time. It is ironic that that man died on that soil because, if you scroll through all of the 'rest in peace' posts on his Facebook now, the last major post he made is literally, 'Tennessee, you've done it again,' and he posts a sunset."

The last time she spoke with Nichols, he "was considering joining the police force because he wanted to set an example for his son."

Going home

An effort has been launched by Nichols' family to have his body transported back to Sacramento. The crowdfunding site, AngeLink, is raising money for a service in Memphis and Sacramento.

The first service, hosted in Memphis, will take place January 17.

"My mother has planned a service to take place this Tuesday in Memphis, but with that being said, my brother has so many friends and family in California who would also like to pay their respects to Tyre," the fundraiser says.

The fundraiser for Nichols' family can be found by clicking this link.

Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal covering issues tied to access and equity. She can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Friends of man who died after MPD arrest remember him as a free spirit