Accident – death – Obituary News :

Tennessee Man’s Final Pleas for Help Ignored by Police in Fatal Shooting, Family Claims

The family of a Tennessee man who tragically lost his life in a police shooting last year has alleged that the officers involved disregarded his desperate pleas for assistance. According to a report, Jaylin McKenzie, a 20-year-old African American man, was fatally shot on December 16, 2022, and his family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department.

The lawsuit claims that Jaylin McKenzie was left to die after an officer, identified as Nahum Dorme, fired at him. Although the officer, Dorme, faced no charges related to the shooting, the police stated that McKenzie had been armed with a gun and had allegedly fired at them twice, as reported by Fox 13 Memphis.

During a news conference in September, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulloy stated that Dorme had not activated his body camera at the time of the incident. This absence of video evidence means that there is no proof contradicting Dorme’s assertion that he acted in self-defense after McKenzie fired first.

However, body-camera footage from other officers reveals a different sequence of events. The footage shows McKenzie being pursued on foot by officers on the night of December 16. Suddenly, gunshots can be heard, and one of the officers who had been chasing McKenzie is seen standing while McKenzie lies motionless on the street, looking up at him.

In their lawsuit, filed last Wednesday, McKenzie’s family argues that he was subjected to “unreasonable and excessive force” by the police officers involved, according to local CBS affiliate WREG. The lawsuit also asserts that McKenzie audibly pleaded for help, but the officers allegedly ignored his cries and failed to provide medical assistance.

Ashley McKenzie Smith, Jaylin McKenzie’s mother, has accused the Memphis Police Department of concealing evidence and presenting an incomplete narrative of the events leading to her son’s death. Smith’s distrust is fueled by the department’s refusal to release unedited and unredacted video footage. ABC24 News quoted her as saying, “We’ve been asking for raw video footage, can’t even get that… Let me see the whole video. I don’t trust you. I don’t trust what you’re saying.”

The Messenger reached out to the Memphis Police Department for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

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