Black Man Paralyzed After He Was Shot by New Jersey Police While Retrieving Tea From Car

An unarmed Black man who last month was shot and paralyzed by police officers in Trenton, New Jersey, is suing the city and its police department.

NBC News reports Jajuan R. Henderson, 29, went to his car to retrieve an iced tea shortly after midnight on Feb. 12, when he was allegedly ambushed by a group of plain-clothed police officers.

“In the middle of the night, Jajuan sat lawfully parked in a car with the engine turned off when an unidentified dark car approached and parked next to him, boxing him in,” the suit reads. “A group of men, fully masked and in dark plain clothes, then jumped out of this mysterious vehicle and began yelling at Jajuan.”

Henderson was shot four times in the neck and back, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.

The lawsuit continues, “This group of men, appearing as any other group of dangerous criminals from a horror movie, turned out to be from the Trenton Police Department. A Black man sitting in a car at midnight while on a cell phone was all the unidentified police needed to smash the driver’s side window. Despite being unarmed, nonthreatening, and minding his own business, the police proceeded to use lethal force and shoot Jajuan in the neck. It is a miracle Jajuan survived.”

Despite being unarmed, Henderson was charged with four counts of aggravated assault for “attempting to cause serious bodily injury.” The charges have since been dropped.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are the city of Trenton, the director of Trenton police, Steve E. Wilson, and the four officers involved in the shooting.

The four officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave.