Maurice S. Gordon
May 23, 2020· unknown, Poughkeepsie, New York
- People
- Maurice S. Gordon
- Outcome
- unknown
On May 23, 2020, Maurice Gordon, a 28-year-old Black man from Jamaica living in Poughkeepsie, New York, was shot and killed by New Jersey State Trooper Randall Wetzel on the Garden State Parkway in Bass River. Gordon, a chemistry student at a community college, had been exhibiting erratic behavior in the hours before the fatal encounter. Friends had called 911 expressing concern after he left a home in Poughkeepsie "looking panicked." In the five hours before his death, Gordon had multiple encounters with police after his car ran out of gas and he was ticketed for speeding. Trooper Wetzel stopped Gordon at approximately 6:15 AM after clocking him driving over 100 mph. Dashcam footage showed that after Gordon's car died on the highway, Wetzel attempted to assist him. Over the course of the stop, Gordon twice attempted to get into the trooper's patrol car. During the second attempt, according to the state's account, Gordon tried to take Wetzel's handgun and drive away with the police vehicle. Wetzel fired six shots, killing Gordon. Gordon was unarmed. Maurice Gordon's death occurred two days before the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked worldwide protests against police racism. In May 2022, a state grand jury declined to file criminal charges against Trooper Wetzel. Attorney William Wagstaff, representing Gordon's family, called the decision "not a surprise," noting data showing that New Jersey police use force against Black people eight times more than against white people in similar scenarios. The family filed a federal civil lawsuit alleging violations of Gordon's constitutional rights.