Jermaine Claybrooks, 32

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
March 16, 2017

Agencies: Milwaukee Police Department Wisconsin | West Allis Police Department Wisconsin

Cause of death: Shooting


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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

The man shot and killed by police on Thursday night wasn't violent and was likely frightened by the unmarked squad cars that surrounded him, his relatives said Friday, and they're not buying the police narrative that he pulled a gun on officers.

Jermaine Claybrooks, 32, died near 19th Place and Stark Street as Milwaukee police, West Allis police and undercover officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration were conducting the investigation, Chief Ed Flynn said said Thursday.

"They were in unmarked cars, and the car that I just see was a black truck, and a black truck that with tints pull up on you, you're going to run," said Claybrooks' girlfriend, Darnesha Jackson.

Authorities said Claybrooks was a known drug suspect. Court records show convictions for marijuana and cocaine possession, dealing cocaine, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, but his family said the father of two was never violent.

"He's never been violent," his mother, Cookie Mccants said. "People done some of everything to him. He's been shot. He never retaliated."