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Family says teen shot by officer didn't have a gun
About 40 people protested outside of the St. Petersburg Police Department.
ST. PETERSBURG (Bay News 9) -- There are conflicting details about what happened at a St. Petersburg graduation party that turned deadly Saturday night.
St. Petersburg police said 17-year-old Javon Dawson refused to drop his weapon before an officer killed him. But Dawson's friends and family said that Dawson never had a gun.
About 40 members of the black community and Dawson's family protested outside the St. Petersburg Police Department Monday.
Dawson's father is demanding answers.
"I just want justice for my son," said David Dawson, Javon's father. "I know he was murdered. It was straight murder; they shot him twice in the back."
Police said Dawson was shot once in the right shoulder, and once in the left kidney.
"It was an angle shot, in other words Mr. Dawson was turned at an angle to the officer when the first shot was fired," said Bill Proffitt, spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Proffitt said Dawson was firing a gun in the street and then pointed it at officer Terrance Nemeth who verbally commanded him to drop the weapon.
"The preliminary investigation shows that the man was armed with a Smith and Wesson .38-caliber weapon," Proffitt said. "There were three spent cartridges in the weapon indicating it had been fired three times."
But Dawson's brother who was at the party insists his brother didn't have a gun, and they were both running because someone else was firing.
"There was too many people out there with guns, and my brother did not have one of them," said Keon Dawson, Javon's brother.
With police and family accounts not matching up, the department is hoping witnesses will come forward with what they saw.
Javon Dawson was shot and killed by a police officer Saturday night. Police say that Dawson was armed. Photo courtesy of Shontavia Seay.
Nemeth is on paid administrative leave, which is routine for an investigation.
He was working on a task force that night called "Operation Safe Summer" that is supposed to address problems of youth related crimes.
Nemeth is a former Marine and has been working on for the St. Petersburg Police Department for a year and a half.
Dawson's family is planning to hold a vigil on Wednesday night.
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