Garden State Parkway – NBC10 Philadelphia nbcphiladelphia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nbcphiladelphia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
WHYY
By
In this image taken from May 23, 2020, video released by the New Jersey Attorney General s Office, Maurice Gordon, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., unbuckles his seatbelt before exiting a New Jersey State Trooper s vehicle in Bass River, N.J. Gordon was fatally shot by the state trooper. (New Jersey Attorney General s Office via AP)
It’s been a year since a New Jersey State Trooper fatally shot Maurice Gordon Jr. during a traffic stop. Racquel Barrett, Gordon’s mother in London, said waiting for the grand jury to convene, and what she feels is a lack of communication by authorities, has only added to the trauma of losing her son.
Among the charges brought in the lawsuit are that officials failed to protect Gordon, a Black man, and other Black people, despite a history of troopers.
The encounter starts as a traffic stop, maybe over a broken taillight or an expired registration.
Most times it ends with an annoyed driver clutching a ticket and cursing the officer, themselves, their bad luck or maybe all three.
But sometimes it doesn t end that neatly. Sometimes the traffic stop turns into a car chase. Which turns into a car crash. Which turns into a foot pursuit. Which turns into a struggle in someone’s yard.
Which turns into a police shooting.
Things can spiral in moments. And a police officer s split-second decision during that frantic dance can set a nation ablaze.