Family Of Black Man Fatally Shot By New Jersey Trooper Wants Answers

The family of a Poughkeepsie, New York man who was fatally shot by a white New Jersey State Police officer, is demanding more answers about what happened surrounding his death, according to the Cherry Chill Courier Post.

Maurice Gordon, 28, was fatally shot by an NJSP trooper after being pulled over for a routine traffic stop on the Garden State Parkway in Bass River, New Jersey, early in the morning of May 23.

After being identified by the attorney general’s office, who is handling the investigation, no more information about what happened has been released, including the name of the officer involved in the shooting.

“As an initial matter, when you have family that is grieving, have a son that is killed unexpectedly by a police officer, you want to know the name of the killer,” William O. Wagstaff, III, the attorney for the family, said in a phone interview with the Cherry Hill Courier-Post. “Whether Gordon died on the side of the road, in an ambulance or at the hospital, whether there were first aid efforts.”

According to Wagstaff, Gordon was unarmed when he was shot multiple times by the trooper, and after he was shot, he was placed in handcuffs. The claims made by Wagstaff are unsubstantiated at this time since no details have been released by the attorney general’s office, and the investigation continues.

Gordon’s mother. Racquel Barrett, and his sister, Yanique Gordon, have flown into New York from London, where they reside, in order to try and get some answers as to what happened to Gordon.

According to the family, Gordon was an Uber driver who was studying chemistry at Dutchess Community College. It is unclear why Gordon was in New Jersey on the morning of May 23.