Hundreds march to protest fatal police shooting of N.J. man

Family of slain man wants answers as to why he was killed. Watch video

NEW BRUNSWICK -- More than 200 marchers braved the sweltering heat Thursday afternoon to protest the fatal police shooting of a Franklin man in April.

Diahlo Grant, 27, was killed on April 9 when he encountered two uniformed Franklin Township police officers at Somerset and Home streets. They pursued into him New Brunswick and police said there was an exchanging of gunfire at 1:31 a.m. in which he was killed.

Since the shooting, police have released little information and the family has become frustrated. The reason Grant was stopped by police, exactly what transpired and names of the police officers haven't been released.

The march was organized by Black Lives Matters Rutgers by the request of the family. It went from Somerset and Homes streets to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and continued through downtown New Brunswick, repeatedly bringing traffic to a halt. The march started at 3 p.m. and ended at 5:30 p.m.

Pauline Grant, Diahlo's mother, his sister Camille O'Sullivan, his six young children, and their mothers were among those who participated in the march.

"Our focus is to get answers," said O'Sullivan, 25, before the start of the march. "To this day, it's still so unreal what happened. We want to find out all the details. We want all the photos. The police said it was a shootout but I don't see my brother on a suicide mission."

The marchers, escorted by New Brunswick police, shouted "Whose life matters, black lives matter," "No justice, no peace, no racist police," "Hands up, don't shoot" and "Say his name, Diahlo Grant."

They stopped at several major intersections in downtown New Brunswick to protest, shutting down traffic as rush-hour approached.

"The family is asking for transparency," said Taqwa Brookins, of Franklin, a junior at Rutgers and president of Black Lives Matters Rutgers.

"Essentially, we're simply asking for our justice system to address crime equally, whether the individual is a law enforcement officer or a citizen." 

Among the marchers was Timothy McDougald, 32, of Franklin. He said his father was killed in a shooting by Franklin Police on Aug. 10, 2010. He felt the shooting was unjustified but the officers were never prosecuted.

"I'm here because I'm just tired of the injustice. We as black men try to live as normal people and every time I turn around the police are murdering us and getting away with it."

"No one knows how it feels unless you have been there and I have been there. My heart goes out to this family."

Family waits for answers

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office has refused to comment on the investigation and didn't return phone calls Thursday seeking a comment on the march.

Brookins, who led the march, said the family wants to know why Grant was stopped, why deadly force was used, did he resist arrest, exactly what happened.

On July 6, the family of Grant filed a tort claim notice in Somerset County Superior Court. In it, the family states if a wrongful lawsuit is filed, they will seek $5 million in damages for lost futures wages, pain and suffering; punitive damages; and loss of companionship and parenting.

The family has said that they don't believe Grant had a gun but Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey has said that police recovered Grant's gun.

The two Franklin Township police officers involved in the shooting were placed on leave immediately following the shooting. But as of May 24, both had returned to duty while the investigation continues.