NJ - Maurice Gordon, 28, unarmed, fatally shot by police on GSP, Bass River, 23 May 2020

[JerseyGirl]

The more than a dozen files of recordings released by the attorney general cover about 30 hours, including interactions that Gordon had with law enforcement before Wetzel pulled him over.

Maurice Gordon, 28, of Poughkeepsie, New York, died at the scene of the May 23 traffic stop after being shot by state police Sgt. Randall Wetzel on the Garden State Parkway in Bass River.

Gordon was stopped for allegedly driving 110 mph on the parkway.

Dashcam video from the trooper's vehicle shows that during the stop, Wetzel asks Gordon to move his car because he pulled over in the fast lane rather than on the shoulder, but Gordon says it has died. Wetzel calls for a tow and asks Gordon, "Where do you want to go?"

Gordon says he is headed to a car dealership, and the trooper tells him he can sit in the back seat of his patrol car, as can be heard on the video. Gordon accepts.

“I can give you a ride wherever you’re trying to go,” Wetzel tells Gordon in the video.

Wetzel returned to Gordon after about 20 minutes, opened the back door and offered him a mask, at which point Wetzel "exited the vehicle" and "attempted to enter the driver seat of Sgt. Wetzel’s vehicle on two occasions."

After the first attempt, Wetzel pepper-sprayed Gordon.

"After the second occasion, Sgt. Wetzel removed Mr. Gordon from the vehicle and, after a physical struggle on the left shoulder of the southbound Parkway, Sgt. Wetzel shot and killed Mr. Gordon with his service weapon. Sgt. Wetzel fired six times and then placed handcuffs on Mr. Gordon."

A state trooper who arrived after the shooting tried to provide aid to Gordon but did not detect a pulse. He was pronounced dead at 7:28 a.m.

The state medical examiner's office has not completed Gordon's autopsy.

Gordon was unarmed. The report alleged that Gordon attempted to take Wetzel's handgun and drive away with the police car.

The more than a dozen files of recordings released by the attorney general cover about 30 hours, including interactions that Gordon had with law enforcement before Wetzel pulled him over.

Gordon was first approached by an off-duty officer in Red Bank, New Jersey, at 3:13 a.m. when he ran out of gas and was stopped in the middle lane of the southbound Garden State Parkway. The officer called a tow truck and an off-duty state trooper and on-duty state trooper also assisted.

At 4:54 a.m., another state trooper pulled up behind Gordon's car because it was stopped in the left lane of the southbound Garden State Parkway. The trooper called a tow truck and left before a civilian brought Gordon to a Wawa convenience store to get gas, which was recorded on video.

Gordon got back in his car and kept driving. He is then pulled over at 6:13 a.m. by a state trooper who gives him a ticket for allegedly driving 101 mph.

Ten minutes later, he is pulled over again, this time by Wetzel, for allegedly driving 110 mph.

Two additional recordings are from a 911 call made by a friend of Gordon's in Poughkeepsie the day before his death. The friend said Gordon had recently left his home and he was concerned about his well-being. He said Gordon was acting "a little weird" and had "said something about a paranormal experience.”

Video released in fatal shooting of unarmed black man by N.J. state trooper

Wetzel is currently on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol.

 

[SugarQueen]

It’s horrible that it happened but so far I’ve not seen anything to indicate the officer did anything wrong. I’m so sorry for his family.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Fatal shooting of unarmed man by cop during traffic stop raises questions about mental health training, communication

The state Attorney General’s office — which is investigating the case as with all police shootings, and presenting it to a grand jury — said the troopers were not aware of the 911 call or Gordon’s other interactions with police on the Parkway that morning.

With the benefit of hindsight — and multiple police video and audio recordings released last week — it seems clear Gordon was in need of some kind of help, but at each step failed to get it.

New Jersey State Police Colonel Patrick Callahan pointed to a failed communication system among law enforcement and a need for more training and resources to better prepare troopers.

Pete J. Stilianessis, president of the New Jersey State Troopers Non-Commissioned Officers Association, said in a statement that Wetzel tried repeatedly to keep Gordon safe in a dangerous position on the highway, and only resorted to shooting him when verbal commands, physical force and pepper spray didn’t work.

“This incident occurred not because of police aggression, but despite every attempt to de-escalate the situation," the union president said.

 

[JerseyGirl]

'Angry and broken' Jamaican mom wants US cop who shot son charged

“The police officer needs to be charged for his murder. Six shots — that is too much. I mean for a dog you wouldn't do that, right?.” Racquel Barrett, Gordon's mother said. “He’s a human being.”

She described her son as a hard-working Christian who loved his life in America, where he moved when he was 19. She said she still finds herself texting him. Barrett traveled to the United States from London, where she lives, after her son was killed and has stayed in a hotel.

“I’m angry, emotional, broken inside. I haven’t come to terms with the whole situation. I’m still sending him text messages: ‘I’m here, I’m waiting for you.’ I just think he’s still here. I’m always on the phone looking at his pictures,” she said. “I brought some pictures from the United Kingdom with me and I’ve slept with them.”

Last week, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal released police dashcam video and audio from the encounter.

William O. Wagstaff III, Barrett’s attorney, said Gordon would be alive if he were white.

 

[SugarQueen]

i still don’t see anything the officer could have done differently.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Fatal shooting of unarmed man by cop during traffic stop raises questions about mental health training, communication

With the benefit of hindsight — and multiple police video and audio recordings released last week — it seems clear Gordon was in need of some kind of help, but at each step failed to get it.

New Jersey State Police Colonel Patrick Callahan pointed to a failed communication system among law enforcement and a need for more training and resources to better prepare troopers.

As national debate rages about reforms to policing, the incident illustrates a key issue central for some of those advocating for defunding police — that police are not well equipped to handle situations involving those suffering from mental illness and money should go to support mental health systems instead.

“The thing is, police officers are not social workers and nobody expects them to make an evaluation or certainly diagnose someone,” said Joanne Greene, executive director of the Mental Health Association in Passaic County, which runs Crisis Intervention Team training for police and first responders.