Family members and supporters of a Newark man fatally shot by police called Thursday for a federal probe into the killing, a day after a state grand jury declined to the indict the officers involved.
Supporters of Kashad Ashford along with his sister, Jenta Ashford, mother Regina Ashford and grandmother Cecille Hepburn speak at a news conference outside the Peter W. Rodino, Jr. Federal Building in Newark on Sept. 24, 2015. (Noah Cohen | NJ Advance Media) NEWARK -- Family members and supporters of a Newark man fatally shot by police called Thursday for a federal probe into the killing, a day after a state grand jury declined to the indict the officers involved.
The state Attorney General's Office announced that the grand jury found two Lyndhurst police officers, a Rutherford officer and a state trooper did not act criminally when they fired at Kashad Ashford, 23, in September 2014 after a stolen car chase.
Speaking outside the Newark federal building, Ashford's grandmother, Cecille Hepburn, said she didn't trust the grand jury process and demanded a meeting with U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, New Jersey's top federal prosecutor.
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"This system has failed this family," Hepburn said.
Hepburn said authorities did not communicate with the family during the grand jury process.
"I will not stop until the truth, whatever it may be, comes out," she added.
Larry Hamm, chairman of People's Organization For Progress, said the grand jury system must be either reformed or replaced in cases involving use of force by police officers.
"We have seen case after case in New Jersey and across the nation where the grand jury system has failed the families of the victims of police brutality," Hamm added. "Right now, we have no confidence in the criminal justice system and this is just another example of why black people across this country do not have confidence in this system."
He also called for an immediate federal investigation into Ashford's death. Family members also accused police of using excessive force.
A spokesman for Fishman said his office was contacted about the case, but had no immediate comment.
An attorney for the family, Audwin Levassuer, said they were exploring legal options, but it was unclear if they planned to file suit.
"We definitely know that there are flaws in the system, a lot of them, but we can be better than this," Levassuer said.
"How can they have closure with this information? How can they sleep at night with all these basic questions unanswered?" Levassuer said of the Ashford family.
In a statement Wednesday, the state Attorney General's Office released more details about the deadly encounter.
A woman told police that someone tried to break into her car on Sept. 16, 2014 in North Arlington, the statement said. Ashford and Jemmaine T. Bynes, 31, of East Orange, fled the attempted break-in in a stolen SUV, leading police on a high-speed pursuit through several towns.
According to the account released by the state Attorney General's Office, the SUV was driving recklessly and tried to ram a patrol car before it crashed into a barrier on the Ridge Road Route 3 overpass in Rutherford.
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A Lyndhurst police officer said he ordered Ashford to stop the vehicle, but he appeared to be trying to drive the SUV out from the barrier, the Attorney General's Office said. When Ashford reportedly shifted into drive, the officer fired.
The second Lyndhurst officer told investigators he saw Ashford with his hand on the wheel and crouch down "like he was trying to grab something" according to the statement. That officer also fired.
Investigators found a loaded .357-caliber handgun on Ashford's side of the vehicle, according to the Attorney General's Office.
Authorities said Ashford was shot seven times.
A Rutherford police officer and State Police trooper also fired, but did not strike Ashford, the state investigation said.
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Police charged Bynes in the pursuit, but he was later gunned down in Newark earlier this year.
Authorities have declined to release the names of the officers who fired their weapons because they were not charged with a crime.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
