In the first news conference since the shooting death of Atlanta CEO Dean Gaymon Friday night, Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino, speaking to reporters in Newark, reported some details of the incident in Branch Brook Park.
According to the undercover Essex County Sheriff’s detective who shot Gaymon, who was not at the news conference and not named, in the moment before the shooting, Gaymon lunged toward him and threatened to disarm him, at the same time reaching into his pocket. The officer, saying he feared for his life, shot Gaymon once in the abdomen, then called for help and administered first aid.
According to the officer’s statement, he had been in the vicinity working on another arrest and realized he had lost his handcuffs. When he went into the woods to retrieve them, he said he found Gaymon having sex “engaged in a sex act.” He says he produced his badge, told Gaymon he was under arrest, and Gaymon fled. According to the prosecutor, while the officer was shouting out commands to stop, Gaymon ignored them and responded by threatening to kill the officer.
Gaymon, who was the CEO of the Credit Union of Atlanta, was in town for the Montclair High School All-Year Reunion, which was held last Saturday at Eagle Rock Reservation. He was taken to University Hospital and pronounced dead at 9 p.m.
Prosecutors say the officer is fully cooperating with the investigation. He gave his statement last night.
The detective was not identified but is a 29-year-old with eight years on the force. The investigation is ongoing and will be presented to a grand jury.
The officer, who was also taken to the hospital, was treated for trauma and released. He has not been cleared to return to work at this time. He was on medication and under a doctor’s care for the weekend.
Here is the full text of the news release:
July 20, 2010
Autopsy Report Shows Georgia Man Died from a Single Gunshot Wound
Sheriff’s Detective Involved in Park Shooting Files Report
Newark – Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino today announced that an autopsy performed by the Essex County Medical Examiner’s Office determined DeFarra “Dean” Gaymon, a 48-year-old Georgia man, died from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Gaymon was fatally shot at approximately 6 p.m. on Friday, July 16, 2010 by an undercover Essex County sheriff’s detective investigating complaints of public sexual activity at Branch Brook Park in Newark. The 29-year-old officer, who has been with the department for eight years, is fully cooperating with the prosecutor’s office. He gave a statement to investigators yesterday evening.
According to the officer, he made an arrest in an unrelated case when he realized he has loss a pair of handcuffs during that arrest. After the suspect in that earlier case was secured, the officer told his partner he was going back into the woods, retracing his steps in an effort to find the missing handcuffs. While bending down to retrieve the handcuffs, the plainclothes officer was approached by Mr. Gaymon who was engaged in a sex act at the time.
The officer pulled out his badge, identified himself as a police officer and informed Mr. Gaymon he was under arrest. Mr. Gaymon appeared to panic, assaulted the police officer and fled. A foot chase ensued. The officer made repeated commands to Mr. Gaymon to stop and submit. Mr. Gaymon ignored those commands, did not raise his arms or make his hands visible and repeatedly threatened to kill the officer. Mr. Gaymon then lunged at and attempted to disarm the officer while reaching into his own pocket. Fearing for his life, the officer discharged his service weapon, striking Mr. Gaymon once.
The officer immediately called for help and rendered first aid to Mr. Gaymon who was rushed to University Hospital and was pronounced dead at 9 p.m. No weapon was recovered at the scene. The officer, who was also taken to the hospital, was treated for trauma and released. He has not been cleared to return to work at this time. He was on medication and under a doctor’s care for the weekend.
The next of kin have been notified. Gaymon was married and has four minor children. He was in New Jersey to attend his 30th class reunion at Montclair High School.
The investigation is ongoing. Witnesses with information are asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Standards Bureau at 973-266-4250 or the Homicide Unit at 1-877-847-7432.
The case will be presented to a grand jury as is required under guidelines established by the Office of the Attorney General in all cases involving police shootings.
Here we have Gaymon moving toward the officer, as though to attack:
in the moment before the shooting, Gaymon jumped toward the officer and threatened to disarm him, at the same time reached into his pocket. The officer, fearing for his life, shot Gaymon once in the abdomen, then administered first aid.
Here we have the officer shouting at Gaymon as he flees:
According to the officer’s statement, he had been in the vicinity working on another arrest and had lost his handcuffs. When he went into the woods to retrieve them, he said he found Gaymon having sex. He says he produced his badge, told Gaymon he was under arrest, and Gaymon fled. While the officer was shouting out commands to stop, Gaymon ignored them and responded by threatening to kill the officer.
Pick one.
help last Saturday at Eagle Rock Reservation.
———————————————–
I assume the reunion was HELD…
I also believe that the story originally had Gaymon shot in the chest. He quite possibly could have survived a wound to the abdomen.
Walleroo–yeah. If this is the best narrative the sheriff’s dept. could come up with after huddling since Friday, they need help.
Virtually every person who’s been interviewed about Gaymon described him as gentle, a softy. It is extremely difficult to reconcile that picture with what the detective alleges.
Sadly, unless there were other witnesses to this killing, Mr. Gaymon’s side of the story will never come out.
Any statement on the incident from the alleged sex partner?
I don’t know if it’s just bad reporting or if the info presented at the press conference was this jumbled, but this account and the one on NJ.com make very little sense.
According to NJ.com:
Gaymon was alone in the park Friday at about 6 p.m., and was engaged in a sex act when the detective saw him and identified himself as a police officer, Robert Laurino, acting prosecutor, said this afternoon.
So… let me get this straight: we’re expected to believe that this man was masturbating (I assume?) in public in Branch Brook Park in broad daylight… and because he was caught doing that, he was willing to KILL a police officer? Was willing to risk his life to escape or to attack?
There is SO MUCH that doesn’t add up about this story.
Sorry. I meant to link to the NJ.com story:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/former_montclair_man_who_was_f.html#comments
And croi, you’re right–all the initial reports indicated that he’d been shot once in the chest.
This is finally being picked up by the NY affiliates. I hope the reporter misspoke at the end of the story when she stated that no charges would be filed against the officer. Isn’t it a bit too early and not enough information available to be making that determination?
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7565298
Something is rotten with this one…It just doesn’t add up…My heart goes out to this poor man’s family.
A slightly more coherently written account from NorthJersey.com: http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/crime_courts_news/98863669_Essex_County_detective_says_he_was_assaulted_by_man_he_killed.html
All of the reports from the press conference indicate that Gaymon assaulted the officer and then fled, engaging the officer in a chase… and somehow during that foot chase, he ‘repeatedly’ threatened to kill the officer and somehow lunged for the officer’s gun. How does that chain of events jive??
According to the officer, he made an arrest in an unrelated case when he realized he has loss a pair of handcuffs during that arrest. After the suspect in that earlier case was secured, the officer told his partner he was going back into the woods, retracing his steps in an effort to find the handcuffs. While bending down to retrieve the handcuffs, the plainclothes officer was approached by Gaymon, who was engaged in a sex act at the time, according to the detective’s statement.
The officer pulled out his badge, identified himself as a police officer and informed Gaymon he was under arrest. Gaymon appeared to panic, assaulted the police officer and fled. A foot chase ensued. The officer made repeated commands to the suspect to stop.
Gaymon ignored those commands, did not raise his arms or make his hands visible and repeatedly threatened to kill the officer, the detective stated. Gaymon then lunged at and attempted to disarm the officer while reaching into his own pocket. Fearing for his life, the officer stated he shot his weapon, striking Gaymon once.
The reporting on this story is maddening. Among other inconsistencies, the above account implies the victim was engaged in act with another person and the SL’s version says he was alone. I know details have been sparse, but come on, can’t the press even get their version of the story straight?
Thanks to lazy reporting we might never learn the truth about this tragedy. Please try harder.
And then there’s *this* comment someone made on the Star-Ledger page… bearing in mind, of course, that the person quoted was anonymous and may or may not be full of sh&t.
I have tried to post before and NJ.com has removed my posts… From what I understand, the other person involved in the sexual activity is a Newark elected official that fears that he will be found out to be secretly gay. I live in this general area of Newark and this is the word on the street and among the local police. However, it is mum’s the word as to who the other person was because people fear retaliation from the police and certain Essex county heavy weights / politicians.
Hopefully, the true story comes out and this man life’s was not wasted in order to hide the identity of the other individual involved in the sexual activity that occured Friday night in Branch Brook Park.
“While bending down to retrieve the handcuffs, the plainclothes officer was approached by Mr. Gaymon who was engaged in a sex act at the time.”
So…in the middle of some sex act, he approached the officer who was bending down, not even paying attention to him? That story just doesn’t fit.
This is only maddening because we now expect EVERY detail to come out all at once.
Thanks Liz for posting this as you and B-net certainly did not deserve to be beaten up for reporting the little bit of info you had.
But now, I only offer caution to all. Cops don’t usually go around shooting folks for no reason, they want to get home to their families so when faced with a life-threatening situation, most do what I know I would do- shoot first. Likewise, Bank Presidents, masturbating or having sex in the woods don’t usually- I imagine- think about lunging at a cop.
(And huh?? Lost his cuffs??)
Something ain’t right- obviously.
However, just because he has a prominent role and job in his community DOES NOT make him innocent. And just cause he’s a cop, don’t make him guilty.
The reverse is true too.
So, as maddening as it is, we need to take a breath and wait for the investigation.
So many unanswered questions.
How and/or why did the cop “lose” his cuffs in the woods?
Perhaps Gaymon was reaching ID and the cop assumed the worst? Maybe I missed it but there is nothing here that states any weapon was found on Gaymon.
Why did it take 4 days to get this *lame* story straight?
reaching “for” ID
That the cop didn’t have to make a statement until four days later should be outrageous, but it is sadly typical.
It may be in the police contract to allow them to wait to give a statement. It usually is.
Also reaching for an ID or a candy bar or a gun is EXACTLY the wrong thing to do when approached by a cop.
Many Black kids (and others) are taught this, along with how to act when pulled over.
Sad, but true.
Though, why anyone would “reach” for anything in the presence of a cop is questionable.
But again—- we don’t know all the facts…
Also reaching for an ID or a candy bar or a gun is EXACTLY the wrong thing to do when approached by a cop.
The details of the bullshit story presented today aren’t so important as its consistency with itself and with the facts. So far the only witness is the cop, who is motivated to put himself in the best possible light.
Unfortunately, there’s a reason it’s referred to as “testilying” as regards police. And that’s coming from someone who counts several of them as very close friends.
what a tool, as usual. A guy was jerking off in the park and now he’s dead, and you’re siding with the cop.
“Also reaching for an ID or a candy bar or a gun is EXACTLY the wrong thing to do when approached by a cop. ”
not sure what you are talking about here, sir.
according to the statement, “Mr. Gaymon then lunged at and attempted to disarm the officer while reaching into his own pocket.”
so it’s not at all like the far more benign example that you created.
it is a positively perverse and nonsensical explanation that is being presented as fact.
so here you are, professor, literally creating a “fact” and then cautioning people not to speculate.
your constant dissembling on this site is all easily dismissed on issues that don’t have such grave consequences as this one. so please stop it, just for a little while.
please?
Normally I refrain from comment on ongoing investigations, but this thing stinks to high heaven, and after watching the press conference, its pretty clear to me that we can expect nothing of substance from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (as is frequently the case – the state takeover can’t come soon enough – Mr. Laurino is a disgrace and should resign.
Time to call in the Feds.
From comments on the news, I think the right interpretation of ‘engaged in a sex act’ is the following.
The office (an undercover officer, perhaps playing the role of someone who would accept sex in what is an area where people meet for sex) was approached by Gaymon for sex (the sex act reported in the news) and nobody else was there.
Once the officer identified himself as an officer, the rest of the situation played out.
I can see where someone who had a family and reputation to protect might act in an uncharacteristic way when a sexual secret was at risk of being revealed.
Hopefully, whatever happened will be discovered and sorted out. It’s just a shame that someone died as a result of the sexually repressive nature of our society. We’ve all seen how public figures lives are ruined when these kinds of secrets are revealed.
Were there any witnesses to this crime? There was mention of the cop having a partner. Were any other people in the area? Or is it just the cop’s word against a dead man who is not here to defend himself?
Horrible situation, I hope the family finds out the truth of this unfortunate situation.