Source: NAACP / NAACP
Philly.com- The Gloucester County NAACP on Wednesday called on the New Jersey attorney general to take over the investigation into the fatal police shooting of a shoplifting suspect in a Deptford strip mall parking lot over the weekend.
In a statement, the civil rights group said Deptford police and the county Prosecutor’s Office should cede their inquiry into the death of LaShanda Anderson, saying an investigation by state prosecutors would “dispel any suspicions” of a cover-up. It said an independent probe was needed to engender confidence in “communities that historically have, according to many reliable studies, been treated differently and unfairly by law enforcement personnel.”
“All residents and visitors to Gloucester County must feel they have the right to live and visit here without fear of threat, violence or harm from anyone, including our police departments,” said Loretta Winters, president of the Gloucester County NAACP.
Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, declined to comment Wednesday. Bernie Weisenfeld, a spokesman for the Prosecutor’s Office did not respond to a message seeking comment.
On Tuesday, the NAACP said it would conduct its own probe into the death of Anderson, 36, of Philadelphia, who was shot twice after she allegedly tried to run over two police officers in a parking lot of Deptford Crossing during an attempt to avoid an arrest on a charge of shoplifting.
