Jaylen Lewis: Family of man, 25, shot dead in his car by Mississippi Capitol Police 'just waiting for answers'
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI: The heartbroken family of Jaylen Lewis has alleged that the details surrounding his police shooting death are being shrouded in secrecy. They have since taken to social media to demand more transparency.
Twenty five-year-old Jaylen was fatally shot in the head by a member of Mississippi’s Capitol Police task force on the night of September 25, 2022. Authorities revealed that a female passenger was present in his car when he was killed and she's believed to be the only witness aside from the shooter. The sister of the deceased, Alexis Lewis, has rekindled public interest in the case by recounting what happened on that fateful night in a TikTok video posted on Saturday, January 7.
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As reported by to Revolt TV, Jaylen and the female passenger were sitting at a red light when they noticed a White man pointing a gun at them. The 25-year-old reportedly called a friend to inform them of the ominous encounter. Dewayne Pickett, the pastor of New Jerusalem Baptist Church, told WLBT-TV that he spoke with the lady who was in the car with Lewis. “They didn’t know who it was because there were no blue lights, no identification. So, he actually called one of his friends because he didn’t know if someone was out to get him, or who it was,” he said. Just moments later, a gun was fired and the doting brother and pal was dead.
A Jackson, Mississippi mom is demanding answers from police after her son 25 year-old Jaylen Lewis died after an officer-involved shooting. pic.twitter.com/jLZhlgZLh1
— Ross Adams (@radamsWAPT) September 29, 2022
Multiple officers were placed on administrative leave just days after the incident, WLBT-TV reported. Invesitgations were opened by the Department of Public Safety and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, who said they would provide updates to the state's attorney general. The MBI said it was also probing three non-fatal shootings on July 9, July 25 and August 14 last year involving the capitol unit.
On September 25th, 2022, 25-year old Jaylen Lewis and father of two young children, was shot and killed by Capitol Police in Jackson, Mississippi. It has been almost 4 months since the shooting and the family has not received answers from the department or even a police report. pic.twitter.com/FDiQEOhVl1
— Maze 👣 (@MaisieBrownJxn) January 3, 2023
Speaking of the force, Alexis said on TikTok, "In my opinion, the state capitol police are moving like a gang. That’s what their strategy and technique [is] like. They only have targeted Black people so far. I don’t know how the citizens of Jackson, Mississippi are supposed to feel like they are protecting us when all they have truly done is harm Black people." The devastated sister also revealed that police released her brother's car to their mother, Arkela Lewis, two weeks after the shooting with no visible damage aside from Jaylen's blood in the interior, per Revolt TV.
The family also posted a follow-up video regarding the lack of transparency in the case. According to Arkela, the family was not provided with the police incident report. “We are just waiting for answers,” she bemoaned. The broken-hearted mother noted that the task force was originally intended protect federal buildings, but they seem to have expanded their “jurisdiction to the more urban areas, the low-income areas.” The Clarion Ledger confirmed Arkela's assumption after it recently reported how the unit grew from 81 officers to 105 and had begun patroling surrounding Jackson State University and the University of Mississippi Medical Center, according to Revolt TV.