he personnel files were released on the eve of Mr. Nichols’s funeral, which was scheduled for Wednesday with the Rev. Al Sharpton set to deliver the eulogy.

At a news conference on Tuesday evening, Mr. Sharpton, flanked by Mr. Nichols’s family and civil rights activists, reiterated demands for accountability. He called for changes in federal law that would tighten rules on police conduct and make it easier to sue officers accused of wrongdoing, describing what happened to Mr. Nichols as “a disgrace to this country.”