Devon Gregory: Activists calling for independent investigation in Jacksonville police shooting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of people demonstrated in front of the Duval County Courthouse on Friday night for Devon Gregory.

Gregory died in November after a Jacksonville police shooting during a traffic stop.

Police released one officer’s body camera video of the shooting in November. JSO said it released the footage after the medical examiner determined Gregory suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Whether the wound killed him is under investigation.

Those in attendance waived flags, held signs and chanted.

Activists and family are demanding the release of all body camera videos in the case.

Action News Jax spoke to Gregory’s aunt, Teanay Gregory, at the protest on Friday. She tells us she was on the phone with Devon in the moments before the shooting.

“Him begging for them to back up, to give him some time,” she said. “They didn’t give him the time, the space. He was scared. And I just want justice.”

The attorney representing the Gregory family, Kevin O’Connor, says they’re having a second autopsy done.

He tells us they’re concerned by Jacksonville’s medical examiner determining Gregory suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“The interesting part about that is that we’ve not been given all the evidence,” said O’Connor. “My second autopsy pathologist says I’m not going to make a determination until they turn all that material over.”

According to O’Connor, Gregory sustained 13 gunshot wounds. He says three wounds were in Gregory’s head.

In attendance were several civil rights organizations, including members of the Rainbow Push Coalition from Chicago. The Rainbow Push Coalition was formed from a merger of two nonprofits founded by the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

“We cannot have police investigating police any longer. We’ve asked for an independent investigation,” said Bishop Tavis Grant, National Field Director for The Rainbow Push Coalition.

Grant says they’re pushing for a federal investigation.

“We’ve been meeting with the Biden transition team and making it a priority that whoever is appointed to be the head of the Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney General, and specifically the civil rights division, take this case on as a priority,” said Grant.

Gregory’s Aunt, Tina Rhiles, says they won’t stop demonstrating until they get the answers they’re looking for.

“They took someone that I can’t even think of one bad thing about,” said Rhiles. “This is the worst; this is the worst. And it’s disgusting that they are not even trying to talk to us about anything.”

Cox Media Group