Candy Nichole, who was detained and accused of hitting two police officers during a Tyre Nichols protest in Times Square, was reportedly released on Saturday, January 28 without posting bail. After Memphis authorities released body cam footage that revealed how brutally Nichols was pummeled, there was outrage around the country. The Memphis police commissioner issued a warning after releasing the video, stating that it showed “acts that defy humanity.”

The main gathering places for protesters were Times Square, Union Square, Grand Central Terminal, and Memphis. Demonstrators shut down the Memphis-Arkansas bridge in protest against the police officers responsible for the unfortunate murder of Nichols. The irate protesters stopped the bridge in both directions by refusing to disperse. On Friday, January 27, dozens of protesters gathered in Chicago outside a police station despite the bitterly cold weather.

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Who is Candy Nichole?

Nichole, 25, was one of the protesters detained on January 27 after she violently attacked two NYPD policemen in retaliation for their handling of the Nichols death investigation. However, after appearing in Manhattan Criminal court, she was freed on her own recognizance, and neither the district attorney’s office nor the prosecution objected. Nichole’s attorney, Caroline Glickler, asserted that her client was a victim of “unnecessary police force” during the protests, during which a guy also used his foot to damage the window of an NYPD patrol car. Nichole “maintains her innocence,” according to Glickler.

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Nichole was previously detained, according to the NYPD, in October 2022 after an alleged “forcible touching” incident in Harlem, where she allegedly grabbed her male partner’s testicles during a fight. Additionally, occupants of the building confirmed to the New York Post that she did not live at the East 28th Street address she provided to the police.

Nichole and two other people, Katherine Stone, 34, and Argenis Rivera, 33, were detained during the protests, as MEAWW previously reported. Stone, a Manhattan resident, received a desk appearance ticket for causing criminal damage. The NYPD claims that Stone was detained after damaging a police officer’s vehicle and being in possession of graffiti tools. Authorities say Rivera leaped on a marked police cruiser and used his foot to smash the windscreen, leading to his arrest for criminal mischief and the filing of damage-to-police-vehicle charges.

Nichols, 29, passed away on January 10 in a hospital, three days after engaging Memphis police officers in a violent altercation. On January 7, after being accosted by five Memphis police officers — now identified as Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith — during a traffic check, the victim passed away from his wounds from the vicious beatings.