Kethessa Fordoms just says she just wants justice.
Her sixteen-year-old son, Javon Neal, was shot and killed Sunday night by Tampa Police officer Gregory Pryor inside Central Court Apartments on Central Avenue. The police say he was shot because he refused to put down a shotgun. Javon's parents say he never had a gun.
On Thursday they said he had been shot at 14 times. Michael Lovett, Javon's father, called that "overuse of force."
The Tampa Bay Times reported on Tuesday that Javon had no arrest record but that in 2009 and 2011 police received reports of fist fights. But they said that in one case he was not the instigator, and the other case it was unclear who was.
That report enraged Lovett. "I don't like the media hyping it up about my son having a brush with the law. He ain't never been arrested," he snarled. "I don't know where you get your information from. He's had guns pulled on him, but he's never had a gun."
He added that the situation was about justice, not race.
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 1, 2012.