Amsterdam News Staff
Another police shooting of a Black man has the victim’s family and the community asking questions. Jerame Reid can now be added to the list along with Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Akai Gurley.
Reports state that Reid was killed by police Dec. 30, 2014, with his hands up in the south New Jersey town of Bridgeton. The incident was taped by a police dashboard camera.
The footage shows what appears to be a traffic stop. One of the officers, who is Black, said that he saw a gun in the glove compartment of the vehicle. Reid was sitting on the front passenger side of car.
Braheme Days, the Black officer involved, said he pulled the vehicle over because the driver did not stop at a stop sign. Days pulled out his gun when he claims he spotted a gun in the glove compartment and alerted the other officer, Roger Worley, who is white, about the firearm.
Using an expletive, Days told the two men not to move and threatened to shoot them if they did. Days ordered the other officer to get the two men out of the vehicle. He is shown in the video removing the gun from the car.
Then Reid and the other man are ordered to not move and show their hands. Days can then be heard saying, “He’s reaching! He’s reaching!” With his hands at shoulder length, Reid has his hands up. The video shows both officers firing six shots before Reid falls down dead.
Reid and Days knew each other from a previous drug arrest, according to reports.
The Open Public Records Act forced the Police Department to turn over the dashboard camera footage when requested by a local newspaper. Both of the officers have been placed on leave while an investigation into the shooting is underway.
“[This] raises serious questions as to the legality and/or reasonableness of the officers’ actions that night,” said Conrad Benedetto, the attorney hired by Reid’s wife.
Cumberland county prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae is not taking the case because of her association with Days. There are calls for the state attorney general, John Jay Hoffman, to take over the investigation.
Bridgeton is a town with a population of just over 25,000, with Blacks and Latinos making up more than 40 percent of the population. Whites make up 32 percent of the population.
The release of the video sparked backlash and outrage among residents. Protests and demonstrations have occurred in response.
The organization leading the fight for justice is the National Awareness Alliance. Feb. 3 the group is leading a “Justice for Jerame” rally and marching to a City Council meeting. At the end of February, NAA is joining forces with the People’s Organization for Progress and Zulu Nation for the “Statewide March Against Police Brutality.”
“Our organization is a result-oriented organization that is being led by the young people who are tired of burying young Black men and women,” said Walter L. Hudson Sr., chairman and founder of NAA. “We will continue moving forward in this movement.”