LaTanya Jones gazed out into a crowd of more than 100 people Sunday night and quietly stated, “I have been pushed into this club I have been forced to join. I am now the mother of a Black man murdered by the police.”
Her son, Bishop Jones, was shot May 30 near midnight by a Montgomery County Police Officer. The Maryland Attorney General’s office is investigating.
According to Montgomery County Police, officers responded to an emergency call and determined that an adult male and his mother were inside an apartment. The officers heard gunshots and began an emergency response.
After negotiating with the suspect, an officer entered the apartment and shot him, according to police.
No police body cam footage has been released by the Attorney General’s office. In an email to MCM, a spokesperson from that office wrote, “The release of the body-worn camera footage in this case remains delayed while our investigators conduct witness interviews. Once the video is ready for release, we will issue a new press release.”
On Sunday, numerous family members, friends and community activists gathered at East County Community Center in Silver Spring to both celebrate what would have been Bishop’s 29th birthday and also to call for a release of the police video and accountability for the office who shot the father of two and Springbrook High School graduate.
According to his cousin, Jamual Forrest, Bishop’s mother told police her son was experiencing a mental health crisis. However, he said, no mental health practitioner arrived on the scene, just a police SWAT team.
Susaanti Follingstaad, a member of the Silver Spring Justice Coalition’s Mental Health Committee, told the crowd that a mental health professional could have deescalated the situation.
“The police appeared to escalate,” she said, adding, “This officer, this is not the first time he has killed somebody.”
Also speaking Sunday night was Paul LeRoux, father of Ryan LeRoux, who was shot and killed by a Montgomery County police officer two years ago at a McDonald’s in Gaithersburg.
“We greatly feel the pain that the community has to continue to go through,” he said.
Tiffany Kelly, who described herself as an activist, questioned why none of Montgomery County’s Black leaders attended the vigil and wondered what they were doing to help. “Where are our Black leaders? They are not here today,” she said.
Candlelight vigil held tonight for Bishop Khalil-Aishon, who would have been 29 today. He was fatally shot by a Montgomery County Police officer @mymcmedia @ssjusticecenter pic.twitter.com/WlLQBUopf1
— suzanne pollak (@SuzannePollak) July 14, 2024
