JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Community Action Committee and the family of a man killed by a police officer held a vigil on Tuesday.
Dejuane Hayden was shot after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said he pulled a gun on an officer Thursday on Justina Road in Arlington.
Family and friends gathered at Memorial Park to share memories of Hayden.
JCAC member Monica Gold said it’s important to honor his memory as they lit candles in his memory.
“I think that any life that is lost, that person deserves to have their respect and they deserve to have loved ones come together and honor them and uplift their actual story,” Gold said. “Because, oftentimes, stories get skewed and narratives got hit on people that are undeserving.”
Gold said some questions still need to be answered.
“We would like to see full transparency from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office,” Gold said. “They killed somebody, and then they went on paid leave, and we have not received any answers to our questions, and the cop in question has been involved in another officer-involved shooting in the past. So something just isn’t adding up, something doesn’t seem quite right.”
A petition was created to request the release of the bodycam footage related to the shooting.
JSO said in a statement that it would release the footage within 21 days of the investigation.