Crowds marched to City Hall in Bridgeton, New Jersey Tuesday night to protest the police-involved shooting death of Jerame Reid.
Reid, 36, of Bridgeton, was shot and killed by two police officers during a traffic stop back on Dec. 30. A dashcam video was recently released showing the shooting and what led to it.
The protesters compared Reid’s death to the police-involved shootings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Two of the protesters were cited after they allegedly confronted police during the rally. No one was injured.
The dashcam video released in January shows Bridgeton Police officers Braheme Days and Roger Worley pulling Jerame Reid and Leroy Tutt over on South Avenue and Henry Street in Bridgeton the night of Dec. 30. Tutt was driving at the time while Reid was in the passenger seat.
In the video, Days walks up to the passenger side of the vehicle, where Reid is sitting, and informs the two men they were pulled over because Tutt ran through a stop sign on South Pine Street. Days then asks to see a driver's license. Suddenly Days pulls out his weapon, points it at Reid and repeatedly screams, "show me your hands" and "don't move."
Officer Worley runs toward the driver's side of the vehicle with his own weapon drawn. Tutt can be seen raising his hands out of the vehicle. It's unclear from the video however whether Reid is raising his hands as well.
"Get him out the car Rog," Days tells his partner. "We've got a gun in his glove compartment."
Days once again tells Reid not to move, opens the door and takes a silver object, which appears to be a gun, out of the car. Days then again repeatedly tells Reid not to move and to show him his hands.
"I'm gonna shoot ya!" Days screams. "You're gonna be f****** dead! I'm telling you! If you reach for something you're gonna be f****** dead! I'm telling you! I'm telling you! Keep your f****** hands right there! Eh, eh, Jerome, if you reach for something you're gonna be f****** dead! He's reaching! He's reaching! Show me your f****** hands!
Reid responds to Days though it's unclear from the video what exactly he's saying.
"No you're not!" Days responds. "No you're not! No you're not! Don't f****** move!"
Days then backs away with his gun still raised. Reid then gets out of the car and appears to have at least one of his hands raised. He takes a step toward Days who then opens fire. Worley opens fire as well. In the video at least six shots are heard.
After Reid drops to the ground, the officers tell Tutt to get out of the car and drop to the ground, which Tutt does. Several people are then heard shouting in the background as police handcuff Tutt.
Since the shooting, the officers involved have been placed on paid leave.
Jerame Reid had a 3-month-old son, according to his cousin Keesha Springs. He was also incarcerated last summer for possession of heroin, cocaine, contempt of court and resisting arrest. Days was one of the officers who arrested Reid on the drug charges, according to the South Jersey Times.
The South Jersey Times also reports Reid spent 13 years in state prison for shooting at three New Jersey State Police troopers when he was a teenager.
During Tuesday night’s rally, Walter Hudson, the chairman and founder of the National Awareness Alliance told NBC10 Reid had a pending lawsuit against Cumberland County at the time of his death. The lawsuit accused corrections officers of assaulting Reid while he was in the county jail back in 2009.
“He was beaten up while he was in jail,” Hudson said. “He suffered a fractured eye socket. From my understanding, from talking to his wife, he had some very extensive damages.”
After his death, Reid's widow hired a law firm to investigate the shooting.
