Asbury Park police arrest organizer of police brutality protest following scuffle

Police arrested the organizer of a protest against the killing of a Black man by police after a scuffle Wednesday night in Asbury Park.

News 12 Staff

Oct 15, 2020, 11:53 AM

Updated 1,517 days ago

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Police arrested the organizer of a protest against the killing of a Black man by police after a scuffle Wednesday night in Asbury Park.
The protest was related to the death of Hasani Best in August. A police officer shot and killed Best in August after a standoff inside a home on Fourth Avenue. Police say that Best was holding a knife at the time, and threatened to stab officers. City activist Randy Thomspon has been vocal about what he thinks was an unfair shooting.
Best's family was at the protest. They are planning on filing a civil lawsuit against Asbury Park and the officer who opened fire, Sgt. Sean DeShader. They are alleging a wrongful killing.
"We demand the attorney general's office, pursuant to the law, put the facts before a grand jury. That is a requirement. And when the attorney general puts before a grand jury a video, pictures of the truth, it is clear that this killing was unjustified," says family attorney Scott Ryneck. "This killing never should have happened. And this police officer has committed criminal acts causing this death. We want this police officer charged, arrested and sent to jail."
The shooting was captured on police body cam footage when officers responded to the domestic dispute. Best was pronounced dead 20 minutes later at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. 
The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General is investigating the circumstances of this shooting.