More than 10,000 sign online petition calling for justice for Maurice Gordon
KINGSTON, Jamaica — An online petition has been launched seeking justice for Jamaican-born Maurice Gordon, who died at the hands of a white New Jersey State Police trooper two days before the widely-publicised death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody.
The change.org petition to the New Jersey State Police so far has 10,734 signature of the current 15,000 target.
Gordon, who migrated to the US at age 19, was allegedly shot at least four times after what should have been a routine traffic stop on the Garden State Parkway on May 23.
Read: Woman seeks justice for J’can-born son killed by police in New Jersey
The New York Daily News reported that an official document released by the New Jersey Attorney General’s office claimed that Gordon tried to grab the unnamed trooper’s gun and tried to steal his state police vehicle.
“Attempted to take handgun. Attempted to take troop car,” reads the document known as a 3B form that must be filed after any police-involved shooting in the state.
However, attorney representing 28-year-old man’s family, William O Wagstaff, said he has seen portions of a video depicting the confrontation and there is “absolutely no evidence” that Gordon tried to take the trooper’s weapon.
Gordon was pulled over for speeding on the Garden State Parkway in Bass River Township about 6:30 am, police said in a cursory five-paragraph press release. Wagstaff told the media that a trooper said Gordon was clocked going 110 miles per hour.
“After the traffic stop, the unidentified trooper ordered Gordon to move his car, but it wouldn’t start. So, Gordon asked the trooper if he could wait in the squad car until a tow truck arrived,” the Daily News reported.
According to Wagstaff, Gordon waited for about 45 minutes and then decided to leave the police cruiser. That’s when the unidentified officer physically confronted him.