The family of Jarveon Hudspeth continued to call Monday for transparency regarding the 21-year-old’s fatal shooting at the hands of a Shelby County Sheriff’s Office deputy on June 24.

The family and their attorney, Ben Crump, called for releasing any footage of the incident. Hudspeth was killed after a traffic stop “escalated,” according to the narrative offered by the sheriff’s office and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. 

“We are appealing to Sheriff Bonner. … Just release the video,” Crump said, standing in the sanctuary of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church and flanked by the Hudspeth family, state Rep. Antonio Parkinson and activists Monday.

TBI identifies driver who died in traffic stop with sheriff’s deputy

Some held signs that said “16 Days,” “Without Transparency” and “Where’s Bonner?”.

The 16 days is a reference to the speed with which the footage of Tyre Nichols, a man fatally beaten by the Memphis Police Department on Jan. 7, 2023, was released. Nichols died on Jan. 10. The footage of his death was released Jan. 27. 

According to TBI, Hudspeth tried to leave the traffic stop, but the deputy was stuck in the door of his car, dragged for more than 100 yards and fired one shot that hit Hudspeth. 

The TBI and SCSO have not said why the deputy approached Hudspeth and how the incident escalated. No footage has yet been released. 

Charlotte Haggett, his mother, described Monday how she waited for him to come home on June 24 and he never came.

“To this day, I’m still waiting on Jarveon to come through the door,” she said. “I just want to know what happened to him when he walked out that door that Saturday ... at 8:30 a.m.” 

The church, Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, was where Nichols’ funeral was held earlier this year. Standing on the pulpit for the first time since, Crump described the two deaths — two young Black men who died after encounters with law enforcement not far from their home — as “eerily similar.” 

“Just because you’re black in America, a simple traffic stop should not equal the death sentence,” Crump said. 

John Morris, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said Monday morning the TBI was handling the investigation and any information regarding the case would come from that agency. 

Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. later released a statement:

“The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is handling the investigation into the death of Jarveon Hudspeth. All information regarding the case, including notifications to the next of kin, would be through that agency.

“It has come to my attention that specific individuals, including Attorney Ben Crump, have made inciting claims regarding releasing video evidence related to this active investigation.The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office will continue to follow the law as set forth by the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Legislature, and the Courts regarding the release of evidence while there is an active investigation or prosecution.

“I strongly condemn these cheap political stunts aimed at manipulating public opinion and causing distress for all involved. My primary focus remains on protecting the integrity of this investigation and providing support to my deputy, who is still recovering from serious injuries.”

Bonner is running for Memphis mayor, and the incident is the second notable death involving his office that has been in the spotlight since the sheriff launched his campaign for mayor.

The sheriff is facing a lawsuit over the death of Gershun Freeman, an inmate at Shelby County Jail who died Oct. 5, 2022, after an altercation with jail personnel. An autopsy report conducted by the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center ruled Freeman’s death as a homicide. 

Crump is also representing Freeman’s family as well as the family and estate of Nichols. 

Crump, family question delay and lack of clarity

Throughout the news conference Monday, Haggett and Crump questioned the way the sheriff’s office had handled the case.

Haggett said she was first told her son’s death had been an accident and that came after repeated calls to the sheriff’s office asking to file a missing persons report. She said she still has not heard anything from the sheriff’s office or Bonner.

Crump said it was curious that the Memphis Police Department had acted so quickly to release the footage of Nichols’ death and charge the former officers involved, and he questioned whether race — the former officers accused of killing Nichols are Black — was involved. 

Crump said during the news conference that witnesses have said the deputy involved was white. 

“We said we don’t want to see swift justice when it is Black officers that kill our children. We want to see this same swift justice when it is a white officer who kills our children,” Crump said. 

Julia Baker and Aarron Fleming contributed to this report.