What happened to Lavon King?

​

Authorities have released the identity of the 20-year-old man who died after he was shot by a Jersey City police officer during a scuffle earlier in the day. Lavon King, of Jersey City, was shot in the chest by a police officer after he struggled with the officer in the backyard of an Ege Avenue home, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Gene Rubino said in a statement.

  

On Tuesday, June 24, 2014, at approximately 4:30 p.m., two Jersey City police officers from the Emergency Services Unit observed and pursued Lavon King – one on foot, one in a police vehicle – through backyards on Ege Ave., according to a June 25, 2014 press release from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. King was being pursued for five open cases in Hudson County Superior Court for drugs and theft, as well as a pending violation of probation, according to the prosecutor’s office. 

​

The prosecutor’s office claims that during the pursuit, King entered an unlocked shed, and one male officer, now identified as Jersey City Police Officer Kenneth Bowes, followed him in with his firearm drawn. King – who was unarmed – struggled with Bowes in an attempt to disarm him of his weapon, the prosecutor’s office said, causing the officer to fire one round from his service weapon, fatally wounding King – who would be pronounced dead at 8:54 p.m. According to the Medical Examiner, the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso and the manner of death was homicide. The prosecutor’s office added that a determination has not been made as to whether this constitutes criminal homicide since the investigation is ongoing. 

​

What happened with the case?

​

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Gene Rubino said the investigation is still pending in the Homicide Unit and Internal Affairs Unit and has not been concluded. My priority is to “conduct an independent, thorough and careful investigation, which takes time,” he told Hudson County View.  

​

Carmine Disbrow, President of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association, in a statement to Hudson County View said “Officer Bowes is a well-respected member of the Jersey City Police Department, his integrity and commitment to making Jersey City better is unquestionable.” “The JCPOBA stands fully behind Officer Kenneth Bowes and is confident that the final outcome of this investigation will show what we have known all along, that he acted in accordance with his training as a law enforcement professional.” 

​

The "rambunctious" King -- that's the word his mother used to describe him -- attended School 41 and then Snyder High School. He had a pit bull named Roxie. His friends called him "Momo." Muriel King, Lavon's mother, said she doesn't believe the authorities' account of his killing. "He wouldn't have tried to grab no cop's gun," King said.  

 

What can we do? 

​

1. Share Lavon’s story 

​

2. Call the Jersey City police department inquiring about the investigation into Lavon’s death (201) 547-5477