Reactions to Gaymon Case Full of Doubt

BY  |  Wednesday, Jun 29, 2011 9:25am  |  COMMENTS (9)

Yesterday’s news about the decision in the Dean Gaymon case has prompted reactions from many doubters, questioning the truth behind the story presented by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Upon hearing the announcement that the grand jury declined to bring any charges against Officer Edward Esposito, the Chairman of the Garden State Equality (GSE), Steven Goldstein, immediately called for a federal civil rights investigation, in accordance with the law. He vowed that his organization would work with Essex County authorities to preserve the quality of life in the parks without relying on undercover patrols, since he feels that system is ineffective and puts civil rights at risk. Continue Reading

Reporter Investigating Gaymon Death

BY  |  Tuesday, Jan 11, 2011 9:06am  |  COMMENTS (7)

When Brooklyn-based freelance journalist Duncan Osbourne (left) — who has reported extensively on issues related to public sex and lewdness for Gay City News and other media — heard the reports about the Dean Gaymon case last summer, it caught his attention.

Gaymon, a Montclair native who resided in Atlanta, GA, was shot and killed in Branch Brook Park on July 16 by Essex County Sheriff’s Office detective Edward Esposito, then 29 years old. The detective claimed that the unarmed victim had been involved in a sexual act, and that when Esposito identified himself and attempted to arrest Gaymon, he fled. After a chase, Esposito said that Gaymon threatened to kill him and lunged for him, at which time the detective discharged his weapon. Continue Reading

My Big Walk: Is it Safe to Walk in Branch Brook Park?

Tuesday, Aug 17, 2010 11:00am  |  COMMENTS (47)

laurie albanese in bbpark.jpgWhen I posed this question to my friends I’d been out of the country for three weeks. I’d missed the Dean Gaymon tragedy in Newark, and the ensuing stories about sex-trolling and other illicit activity in this 360-acre Essex County Park.  But a walker must walk – and so I set out at 11 a.m. on Friday the 13th with a map, my big dog, and my son John – a 16-year-old black belt who’s ripped, and knows it.
We entered the north end of the park at Franklin Avenue and drove south, passed the Cherry Blossom Center, to the Steven N. Adubato, Sr. Sports Complex, where we parked and headed toward the lake. So far, so good. It was sunny, we saw women walking in pairs, passed a mother and young daughter on the footpath, saw a few cyclists on the road, and spotted a very elderly couple helping one another up a steep incline. John spotted empty silver blunt wrappers, little plastic drug packs, trashed lighters and other paraphernalia underfoot, but that was the only evidence of a debauched nightlife apparently blazed away with daylight.

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Gay Groups Meet With Essex Officials

Wednesday, Aug 04, 2010 6:19pm  |  COMMENTS (16)

dean_head.jpgA coalition of gay groups in Essex County met with the sheriff and the county executive yesterday to discuss the county’s enforcement policy on sexual “cruising” — in light of last month’s shooting death of Dean Gaymon in Branch Brook Park. The discussion apparently mollified concerns in the gay community that Essex County is unfairly, and dangerous, targeting them.

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Talk to Ed Koch about Gaymon Tonight on Bloomberg Radio

Friday, Jul 30, 2010 1:00pm  |  COMMENTS (13)

EdKoch.jpgCory Booker reached out to Ed Koch last night, after the former NY Mayor called for Booker’s involvement in the DeFarra Gaymon shooting. After their chat, Mayor Koch came away with a better understanding of the Newark Police Department vs. the Essex County Sheriff’s Department and modified his statement (after the jump).
Koch will be discussing the Gaymon incident and taking calls on his weekly Bloomberg radio show – Ed Koch, The Voice of Reason — tonight, between 7-8pm.
We know Koch wants to hear from Baristaville on this, and we know you all have lots to say. Click here to listen between 7-8pm or call 1-800-971-1130 to join the discussion. You can also find the show at 1130 on the AM dial, XM, 129 and Sirius, 130.

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Mayor Ed Koch: Booker Must Act in Gaymon Case

BY  |  Thursday, Jul 29, 2010 10:25am  |  COMMENTS (26)

UPDATE: Booker tweets back, pointing out (as some commenters have) that Branch Brook Park is not his domain.

Kotch going 2 clarify on radio. Police involved NOT Nwk police, it was a county park, I have NO authority there. They’re Sheriffs officers

SECOND UPDATE: After talking with Mayor Booker on the phone last night, Mayor Koch came away with a better understanding of the Newark Police Department vs. the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. Here’s what Mayor Koch says today:

I mistakenly concluded that the undercover police officer who fired the weapon that killed Mr. Gaymon in the Branch Brook Park was a member of Newark’s Police Department and, therefore, under the control of Mayor Cory Booker. In fact, the police officer was a member of the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.
I spoke with Mayor Booker yesterday, he having called me to correct the misinformation, and apologized for my error. He is very concerned with the killing incident and seeking ways to prevent a reoccurrence.

Ed Koch from Wikipedia.jpgFormer New York City Mayor Ed Koch has weighed in on the shooting of Dean Gaymon in Branch Brook Park, saying that Newark Mayor Cory Booker must get involved in the case. Koch, who has a listserv of about 5,000, called for Booker’s involvement in an email yesterday.
“Mayor Booker’s leadership is essential in this case and in changing the policy of how Newark’s police force deals with public homosexual activity,” Koch said in a telephone interview with Baristanet this morning. Koch dealt with his share of police shooting incidents during his 3 terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989.
In his email yesterday, Koch likened the situation to the 1969 Stonewall incident in New York City during Mayor John Lindsay’s administration that has become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement. As a result of the violent demonstrations by the gay community in reaction to a brutal police raid, Mayor Lindsay changed police policy regarding the treatment of homosexual activity.
“Mayor Booker is a very fine person, and much in the mold of Mayor Lindsay,” Mayor Koch wrote. “Ultimately, Mayor Booker is in charge of the cops, and it’s up to him to step in.”

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NJ Attorney General Won’t Review Gaymon Case

Wednesday, Jul 28, 2010 9:07pm  |  COMMENTS (16)

The Star Ledger is reporting that state attorney general Paula Dow — formerly the Essex County prosecutor — will not conduct a separate investigation into the Dean Gaymon’s shooting death in Branch Brook Park by an undercover detective on July 16. The American Civil Liberties Union-NJ
“The public’s confidence in this investigation depends on whether the professionals undertaking it operate independently, outside of the county structure,” ACLU-NJ executive director Deborah Jacobs said at the time.
Before Gov. Christie appointed her attorney general, Dow was the boss of acting prosecutor Robert Laurino, who is now in charge of the case.
The objectivity of the county may be further compromised by the fact that the man unofficially identified as the shooter is Edward Esposito, former driver to county executive Joe DiVincenzo.

Another Sad Case: The Fatal Beating in Summit

BY  |  Monday, Jul 26, 2010 9:00am  |  COMMENTS (27)

downtown summit.jpgMaybe geography is destiny. Dean Gaymon, a 48-year-old Georgia CEO and father of four, came back to Montclair for a high school reunion a week ago on Friday, and wound up shot to death by an undercover detective in Branch Brook Park. The following night, last Saturday, Abelino Mazaniego, a 47-year-old Salvadoran immigrant and father of four, was resting on a park bench in downtown Summit when he was allegedly beaten to death by a group of teenagers.
While we were fixated on the shocking news about Gaymon, the story about Mazaniego came out in dribs and drabs. The beating, captured on video, happened on Saturday. Mazaniego died Tuesday afternoon. Two Summit teenagers were arrested on Wednesday and a third was arrested in Morristown on Friday. All have been charged with manslaughter.

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RIP, Dean Gaymon

BY  |  Saturday, Jul 24, 2010 12:20pm  |  COMMENTS (7)

dean_head.jpg The funeral of slain credit union executive Dean Gaymon, killed by an undercover detective last weekend in Branch Brook Park during his visit to attend the Montclair High School Reunion, is going on now in Columbia, South Carolina.
Baristanet extends its sympathy to Gaymon’s family and friends and invites other members of the community to do so as well. Inflammatory comments are not welcome in this thread.

Gaymon Family Calls Cop’s Story “A Blatant Lie”

Wednesday, Jul 21, 2010 12:23am  |  COMMENTS (99)

A lot of our readers didn’t buy the undercover detective’s story of how and why he shot Dean Gaymon to death in Branch Brook Park last Friday night. Neither did the Gaymon family.
They issued a statement to the members of the Atlanta press last night, pointing out inconsistencies in the official story, noting that there have been six fatal police shootings in Essex County so far this year and demanding that the FBI step in and take over the investigation of Gaymon’s death.
“In reviewing the police officer’s statement summarized today by the Essex County Prosecutor,” the statement said, “We are without any doubt that the statement is a blatant lie concocted after four days of unexplained silence.”
They also accused Essex County of wrongfully taking Gaymon’s life and defaming him in death as well.
The full text follows.

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Featured Comment

Perhaps yesterday's heavy police presence would have been better applied to Mission Street than to the Montclair State campus.
Posted by
cathar

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