Kwame Jones
Birth date:
January 1, 2003
Death date:
January 5, 2020
Age at Death:
17
About
Kwame Jones was 17 at the time of death, and was pursuing a GED.
Per the State Attorney's Office investigative summary, "On January 5, 2020, a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer attempted a traffic stop on a stolen car. The car fled at high speeds, hit another car and then crashed into a concrete pole of a pedestrian overpass. When the officer approached the suspected vehicle (which had a driver, and two passengers, one of which was Mr. Jones) the backseat passenger pointed a rifle at the officer. In fear for his life, the officer opened fire, wounding the backseat passenger and killing the front seat passenger, Kwame Jones, while the third male fled the scene.
Was justice served?
The officers pulled up to the vehicle after it crashed while attempting to elude police after driving the wrong way on a road - police believed it to be a stolen vehicle. An assault type weapon was identified as the one pointed at officers. Noteworthy was the individual charged with pointing the weapon at officers was an 18-year-old who was charged with possession of a firearm by a juvenile delinquent found to have committed a felony.
Mr. Jones' involvement in the theft of the car is unknown, but his death is a tragedy and appears to be the result of other people's decisions (the passenger in the backseat and subsequently, the shooting by the police officer).
Source: https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/crime/report-body-worn-camera-footage-released-in-fatal-shooting-of-17-year-old/77-37acca12-ec30-4de9-a8c5-25d1ff46e7e1 and https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2020/01/23/2-survivors-of-jacksonvillersquos-first-2020-officer-involved-shooting-now-jailed/112220308/