By Vic Micolucci
One man was killed, another shot and a third arrested after an undercover investigation of an armed robbery of a cellphone on Monday ended with shots fired by Jacksonville officers on Tuesday evening.
A woman told News4Jax that her 20-year-old, Reginal Boston, died in the gunfire at the Hampton Ridge Apartments on Harts Road on the Northside. Another man was shot and a third person was taken into custody.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Chief of Investigations T.K. Waters said officers working undercover made contact with three suspects, one of whom pulled a firearm.
“Officers gave loud, verbal commands for them to drop the gun. They refused to drop that gun. At that point … officers fired their service weapon several times.”
Waters said two men were hit by gunfire, and one of them died at the scene. A second man was taken to a hospital with critical injuries. all three were described as being in their late teens or early 20s.
Boston’s mother, Yvonno Kemp, is understandably devastated after learning he was killed in a police-involved shooting overnight, but the police version of what happened doesn’t add up to her. She tells us her son worked two jobs and had a 10-month-old son. She said he was a rapper and didn’t cause any trouble.
“I knew that something happened to my baby. I knew that. I felt it in my stomach,” Kemp said.
None of the officers were injured but all three were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure after officer-involved shootings. Police said they were wearing body cameras, which will help in the investigation into exactly what happened.
News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson said JSO will do a full and fair investigation.
https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2020/01/22/after-man-killed-by-officers-mom-wants-answers/