‘This was purely an act of racism. Period. So, for all you that think this is all bullsh**, you need to check yourself’ say ex pro-baseball player after his black childhood friend is killed by white cop who ‘tasered and shot him three times as he tried to break up brawl inside gas station’
‘There’s no excuses this time…”he was a criminal”… Nope, not this time. “He resisted arrest, just comply with the cops.” Nope that one doesn’t work this time either’
‘This was purely an act of racism. Period. So, for all you that think this is all bullsh**, you need to check yourself’ – Former professional baseball player, Will Middlebrooks, wrote on social media
Jonathan Price his childhood friend was ‘singled out’ while trying to break up a fight at a gas station, Middlebrooks said
Jonathan Price, intervened when he saw a man and woman brawling inside an Exxon gas station in Wolfe City on Saturday, witnesses said
A white police officer ‘tasered and shot [Price], three times as he tried to break up brawl inside gas station’
As Price approached the couple, the man reportedly assaulted him and the altercation spilled outside where police arrived shortly afterwards
Witnesses say he put his hands up and attempted to explain to police what had happened but was then tasered before being shot in the chest and twice in the back
Authorities confirmed on Sunday that the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation
The shooting is being investigated by Texas Rangers
The officer was not named, however witnesses say the cop was white
Wolfe City PD only has three officers: Police Chief Matthew Martin, Sergeant Jarred Hayes and Officer Shaun Lucas
A man beloved by his community and lauded as a ‘pillar of the community’ was fatally shot by police in his hometown of Wolfe, Texas over the weekend as he reportedly, attempted to break up a domestic violence situation at a gas station.
Jonathan Price is said to have intervened when he saw a man and woman brawling inside an Exxon gas station in Wolfe City, northeast of Dallas, on Saturday at 8:30pm.
As the 31-year-old city employee approached the couple, family members say, the man assaulted Price. When police responded to the disturbance, a Wolfe City police officer tasered and then shot the good Samaritan multiple times.
Authorities confirmed on Sunday that the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation from the Texas Rangers, however no further details of the shooting were released.
The officer was not named, however family of Price and witnesses say the cop was white.
The aftermath of the shooting was captured on a Facebook live video by a bystander
The Wolfe City Police Department only has three officers, including Police Chief Matthew Martin, Sergeant Jarred Hayes and Officer Shaun Lucas, according to the department’s website.
Philadelphia-based civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt said he is working with the family to ‘get justice’ for Price, hailing him as a ‘hometown hero’.
‘Motivational speaker, trainer, professional athlete and community advocate— he was dearly loved by so many,’ Merritt wrote to Facebook. ‘He noticed a man assaulting a woman and he intervened.
Witnesses said Price tried to break up the fight inside the store, but the altercation spilled outside.
Merritt said he’s been informed that when police arrived at the scene, Price raised his hands and attempted to inform the officers exactly what had happened.
However, the attorney claimed that: ‘Police fired tasers at him and when his body convulsed from the electrical current, they “perceived a threat” and shot him to death.’ Nobody else was harmed.
Price was reportedly shot multiple times, once in the chest and twice in the back, and later died from his injuries. No details have been confirmed by police.
A former athlete who also played football for Humboldt State University, Price was employed by the city, where he worked in the public works department. He also worked as a fitness trainer.
A witness who was in a store across the street when the fatal shots rang out recognized the victim as Price, and described him as a ‘pillar of the community.’
‘We all love him and think so highly of him and just the nicest guy you could ever meet,’ Kyla Sanders told WFAA-TV.
Man is fatally shot by police while trying to break up fight.
A witness who was in a store across the street when the shooting unfolded recognized the victim as Price, and described him as a ‘pillar of the community.’
Footage of the aftermath of the shooting was captured by Hunt County Theft Reports, showing scores of bystanders gathered outside the gas stations under the glare of several flashing lights.
Marcella Louis, grieving the loss of her only son, said the world has ‘lost a hero’ following Saturday’s tragic shooting.
‘They took my son from me,’ she told the station through tears. ‘They took my baby.’
Louis said she raced to the gas station after receiving a call that he’d been shot: ‘They wouldn’t let me get close to my baby,’ she said. ‘I just wanted to hold his hands and they wouldn’t let me do that. I just wanted to crawl over there,’ she wept.
Wolfe City, located around an hour northeast of Dallas, has a population of about 1,500 people. A former athlete who also played football for Humboldt State University, Price was employed by the city in its public works department at the time of his death and also worked as a fitness trainer.
Price’s family and friends said he was well known in the area, mainly for his supportive and giving heart.
‘Everybody loved Jonathan. Everybody,’ said his sister, April Louis. ‘Black, white, Mexican, it doesn’t matter. He loved everybody. Everybody loved him.’
Price’s childhood friend Will Middlebrooks, a former professional baseball player, wrote on social media that Price was ‘singled out’ while trying to break up a fight at a gas station.
Middlebrooks, who said he is ‘heartbroken’ and ‘furious’, said Price had his hands in the air when an officer shot him once in the chest and twice in the back.
‘See this face? This is the face of one of my childhood friends. The face of my first ever favorite teammate,’ Middlebrooks wrote alongside pictures of Price in a Facebook post that was also shared on Twitter.
‘The face of a good man. But unfortunately it’s the face of a man whose life was taken away from him last night with his hands in the air, while a small town East Texas cop shot him once in the chest and then twice in the back.
‘Why? Bc he was trying to break up a fight at a gas station… for some reason he was singled out. I’ll let you do the math.’
Middlebrooks added: ‘There’s no excuses this time…”he was a criminal”… Nope, not this time. “He resisted arrest, just comply with the cops.” Nope that one doesn’t work this time either. This was purely an act of racism. Period. So, for all you that think this is all bullsh**, you need to check yourself.’
In a video posted on Facebook, Middlebrook called for calm in Wolfe City, saying Price would not want his hometown ‘torn to pieces,’ a reference to the unrest spurred by the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
In June, Price posted on Facebook that he had never had a negative encounter with police.
‘There were times I should have been detained for speeding, outstanding citations, outdated registration, dozing off at a red light before making it to my garage downtown Dallas after a lonnng night out,’ Price said.
’I’ve passed a sobriety test after leaving a bar in Wylie, Texas by 2 white cops and still let me drive to where I was headed, and by the way they consider Wylie, Texas to be VERY racist. I’ve never got that kind of ENERGY from the po-po.’
‘Not saying black lives don’t matter, but don’t forget about your own, or your experiences through growth / “waking up,”’ Price said.
The family will be holding a candlelight vigil for Price on Monday evening.
Middlebrooks has set up a GoFundMe page for the family, to help with funeral and legal costs, has raised $58,220 of the $50,000 goal
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