A household is demanding justice and accountability after viewing the body-worn camera video of final month’s lethal taking pictures of Melvin Jay, 31, by a Prince George’s County police officer.
A household is demanding justice and accountability after viewing the body-worn camera video of final month’s lethal taking pictures of Melvin Jay, 31, by a Prince George’s County police officer.
“We demand justice for Melvin,” stated Leonard Lee, first cousin of Jay who was killed by a single police gunshot on Feb. 1 at his house in Suitland, Maryland.
“Since Feb. 1, 2024, my household has been gripping with devastating lack of our cherished one, Melvin Kenneth Jay, who was taken from us in an premature and violent method, within the very place he ought to have felt protected — his house,” Lee stated.
Lee gathered with different relations, group activists and the household’s lawyer to ship feedback simply two days after the Maryland Attorney General’s Office made the physique worn camera footage public.
“There is a concern, a tangible concern, that in the event you name for 911 for assist, or for any motive, that a cherished one, or a member of the family won’t make it out of that scenario alive. And that concern is completely different for various communities. We need to be sincere, that Black individuals throughout this nation should not seen the identical by legislation enforcement, after they’re sporting the badge, irrespective of the colour of their pores and skin,” stated Prince George’s County Council member Krystal Oriadha the place the taking pictures passed off.
“If they’re white, Black, brown, there’s one thing that occurs after they see us. And this incident may have been averted. There’s a lot that we now have to do as authorities officers in terms of demanding higher coaching, demanding transparency,” she added.
After Jay was shot, the video shows police eradicating a gun from his pocket and saying that a second gun was discovered within the kitchen sink, close to the place Jay was shot.
“The ache we really feel is immeasurable. And the questions swirling in our minds are infinite. We are shattered not simply by the lack of our beloved member of the family however by the senselessness of his death,” Lee stated.
“We demand justice for Melvin. We demand accountability for these accountable. No household ought to need to endure such heartbreak, such injustice. We urge for an intensive and clear investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. … Our grief is uncooked, our anger is justified and our resolve is unwavering,” he added.
The officer who fired his weapon, Officer Braxton Shelton, is on administrative depart and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office is investigating the taking pictures.
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