“Motivational speaker, trainer, professional athlete and community advocate — he was dearly loved by so many,” Merritt wrote Sunday on Facebook.The lawyer, who represents the families of several African Americans killed by police in recent years, said Price had noticed a man assaulting a woman and decided to intervene. What happened next remains unclear, but family members claim an unarmed Price raised his hands and tried to explain what was happening before cops tased and then shot him.
Jonathan Price (GoFundMe/)
City officials said in a brief Facebook post Sunday that an officer involved with the shooting has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. The Texas Department of Public Safety is leading the probe.
Price’s mother, Marcella Louis, said she rushed to the gas station shortly after the shooting but police wouldn’t let her get close to her “baby.” She told local news station WFAA she was not surprised her only son was trying to help others when the incident happened.
“He had a good heart. He always tried to help others. I taught him that all through the years,” Louis said in a tearful interview.
The race of the officer who shot her son has not been released, but the killing of another Black man by a police officer prompted immediate outrage in the community. The hashtag “#JusticeforJonathan” also began trending on social media following his death.
Former MLB player and childhood friend Will Middlebrooks urged the public to remain calm as the investigation progresses.
“It’s a tough loss. It’s a really, really tough loss for all of us,” he said in a video Sunday. “But the last thing I want to see is that town being torn to pieces because of this. I understand you’re angry. I understand you’re sad and broken. We all are.
“And I know for a fact, he would not want that place being torn to pieces,” Middlebrooks added.
The former Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox player also launched an online fundraiser to help Price’s family pay for memorial and funeral expenses.