DeFarra Gaymon, pictured above, lived in Montclair, NJ and was home for his 30 year class reunion.
Gaymon was the CEO of a credit union and returned to NJ as one of the organizer’s of his 30 year class reunion, which took place Friday July 16.
Essex County prosecutors said, Gaymon was unarmed when he was shot in the chest by an undercover detective.
Supposedly, the undercover officer (whose name is not being released), was dispatched to the scene after complaints about sexual activity in Branch Brook Park. An area in the park known for homosexual activity.
According to the detective, who has not yet made an official statement to investigators, Gaymon was involved in an illicit act in public and ran when told, he was under arrest.
Gaymon who was married with 2 daughters and 2 sons and reside in Atlanta, was unarmed.
The undercover detective who shot unarmed Gaymon, was treated at University hospital and medicated due to trauma. Sounds fishy to me.
The investigation into last Friday’s shooting is ongoing, as Gaymon’s family seek answers for such a tragic turn of events.
Thanks to loyal CEO-Blog reader Theresa B. 🙂 for the story tip.
Conversations Of A Sistah 
I think this story is a bunch of hog-wash. Here is my theory: I think Gaymon probably pulled over to go to the bathroom in the woods and when the police officer walked by, Gaymon appeared and it startled him, which in turn he fired his pistol. I don’t believe not one second that this guy approached this police officer for sex. If you go to nj.com, there are three different accounts and I can’t help to believe this is a cover-up on the police department part.
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The guy is obviously gay and the bigot of a cop shot because he was offended by the offer of sex by a man. How sad this never happens to white men.
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May he rest in peace, and may his family find peace.
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Heartfelt condolences to Mr. Gaymon’s family.
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Peaceful journey, Mr. Gaymon. I hope that in time, your family can find some peace, and that they get they answers they need.
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the stories does sound fishy. newark is trying to cover this shit up.
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looks like jersey cops are going to have to do some scrambling to get out of this one.
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Like any death, this is tragic. One side or the other has done something terribly wrong, either by accident or with intent. This warrants investigation.
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This isn’t tragic like any death, this is particularly tragic, and bizarre.
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it’s hard to imagine a scenario where sexual activity in a park legitimately ends with being shot by the police. (not impossible, but troubling) Why is there still yet no information on this case?
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This is just so sad….Why was this poor man shot? It is hard to believe that he could have been doing anything that warranted that..
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There’s a big puzzle piece (or several) missing from this story. Like ROC, I wonder what kind of sexual activity (unless it’s an armed rape) would warrant being shot to death. Those who provided the information to the press are not doing themselves justice by leaving out critical pieces of information.
Tragic, nonetheless.
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If the cops screwed up, that’s a big reason why there is precious little information. They’re not exactly going to advertise that they goofed, and it’ll take them a few days to get their stories straight before they present a unified front to the media.
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Oh, no, Nick. The cop was “shaken up” and had to be medicated. That’s why prosecutors haven’t been able to interview him yet.
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How often is an undercover detective rushed to a hospital after using a gun? There is much more to this story.
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From just the information that is out there, at this time, I’d say the shooter needs a desk job, or to be fired, so he cannot fire again.
From his writing, the dead man seems educated, and well spoken too. What the heck could he possibly have been doing, to warrant being shot to death?
Somebody is BOOM BOOM happy.
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Agreed. Strange circumstances. Speculation is idle, but most after dark park visitors aren’t there for the birdwatching.
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“…but most after dark park visitors aren’t there for the birdwatching.”
But they still don’t deserve to be shot. I sometimes run in Verona Park after dark with my husband. So not everyone who visits a park in the evening is up to no good.
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He was shot at 6 pm?! At this time of year, that’s still broad daylight…
The Newark cops got *a lot* of ‘splaining to do.
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OK, illicit sex or drugs, the exposure of which is less than desireable from either a career or family perspective. More to the story, but I’ll bet this is where it starts. Stay tuned.
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We do not yet know what happened in this case. Why does this man’s profession change everyone’s opinion about the shooting?
The fatal shooting of *anyone* by police requires thorough investigation and disclosure; but there is not enough information here to draw any conclusions. Also, why is there so much hostility toward a cop who may have had no choice but to use deadly force, and was traumatized as a result?
The fact that this man was a CEO and educated does not mean that there was no chance that he did something to provoke the officer to act as he did.
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This is a horrific tradgedy that can not be undone, and his family will suffer the consequences forever.
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For anyone familiar with the history of homophobic violence directed by law enforcement agents towards gay men, it seems to me to be very easy indeed to imagine a scenario where sexual activity in a public park ends (albeit not ‘legitimately’) with being shot or otherwise tortured by the police.
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Without the facts, it’s easy to imagine all sorts of things.
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Branch Brook Park also known as “lovers lane”. Famous for sexual activities happening but often overlooked by officials. However, it is also a very popular cruising spot for gay men for over 40 years. 10 years ago or so they raided the park and had every married man’s mug shots on the cover of the Belleville Times (the park borders Belleville/Newark). Cops have always been harsh on the gay activities in this park.
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personally, I don’t believe one word of the detective statement at all!! But I do believe that the prosecutor is doing the right thing by allowing the grand jury to review his story is to determine whether the undercover detective story has holes in it
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Total BS of a story. Sorry but I have trouble with this statement of the incident.
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This is pretty simple. The bother got caught on the downlow and didn’t want to be arrested. Did he deserve to be shot? Maybe and that all depends on his level of resistance and the actions he took while resisting.
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This is pretty simple. The bother got caught on the downlow and didn’t want to be arrested. Did he deserve to be shot? Maybe and that all depends on his level of resistance and the actions he took while resisting.
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GTFOH!!!
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No offense but dude looks gay.
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What a horrible statement. None of us know why Mr. Gaymon was in the park that evening. We need to wait for specific facts. However, I’d like to ask how many of you have encountered an undercover police officer? Imagine walking through a park and having someone come up behind you, in plain clothes and tell you he is a cop? You might be able to buy that line at Brookdale Park but in Branchbrook Park someone might be jacking you for your wallet. The guy had no weapons on him. His friends and family describe him as a “softie”. Why was there a need to shoot him??
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Why was Mr. Gaymon in the park to begin with?
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Why was Mr. Gaymon in the park to begin with?
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oh so as a black man u can’t take your ass to the park?
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Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. It doesn’t matter. He was unarmed. As usual, unlike most of you, I’ll reserve judgement as no investigation is complete.
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I don’t care how desperate he was not to get arrested or if he was having sex in the park. I can’t believe the cop felt it was necessary to shot the man in the chest because he was being belligerent, I don’t give a heck if he he had to struggle with the man he could of called for back up or if he felt the need to shoot he could have shot the man in his leg. This is bullshit!!!
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Why shoot a Unarmed man? Why…..?
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You are free to discuss the facts of the story as we currently understand them, but please be respectful of the person who died.
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An unarmed person should not end up dead over a potential charge like public indecency. Tazered, yes, if he’s resisting. But shot in the chest? Damn!
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Sexual behavior? Why not use a taser?
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Why is this cops id. being hidden?
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Why is this cops id. being hidden?
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cause his ass is scared and traumatized!!
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You people are sick and crazy. Since when is it a crime to be in a public park at 6:00PM in the evening when the sun is still shining bright. This is a cover up – “Plain and Simple”.
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Wow! @ this whole story Wow!
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If dude ain’t gay he damn sure look gay but still didn’t deserve to die. the story is fishy but what was he doing in the park?
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Why is this cops id. being hidden?
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cause his ass is scared and traumatized!!
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something fishy about this whole story. ya gotta guy home for his class reunion, visiting a park then winding up dead just hours before the reunion. just don’t sound right. where’s the person he was having sex with? Or was he having sex with the cop? Something ain’t right with this story.
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something fishy about this whole story. ya gotta guy home for his class reunion, visiting a park then winding up dead just hours before the reunion. just don’t sound right. where’s the person he was having sex with? Or was he having sex with the cop? Something ain’t right with this story.
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I co-sign. I hope the family get the answers they need.
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Guy in the park and end up dead. yet he was unarmed.
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an unarmed black man being killed today should be of no surprise to anyone. what’s fucked up is, the way this dude mighta died.
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This guy was buried on Saturday in Columbia, SC. wow. Still waiting for the copa and a real statement.
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This is too sad.
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Theses cops are too much and they get away with everything. Who polices the police?
R.I.P. Mr Gaymon
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