Police shooting of Jajuan Henderson in Trenton, N.J. under investigation

TRENTON, N.J. -- The shooting of an unarmed man by police in Trenton, New Jersey is under investigation. CBS2's Meg Baker spoke with the injured man's mother and others as they called for justice Thursday.

Jajuan Henderson's mother wiped away tears as she spoke about her son and the phone call she got saying her son was shot by police on Center Street.

"On the morning of February 12, my son Jajuan was almost executed by the Trenton Police Crime Unit," Gia Henderson said.

Henderson along with the NAACP and others are calling for justice. They're filing a lawsuit against Trenton Police.

"This case involves yet another needless police shooting that left a 29-year-old Black man paralyzed from the chest down after a far from routine traffic stop," Richard Smith of the NAACP said.

Jajuan Henderson's family said he was visiting the mother of his child and walked outside to his parked car around midnight.

"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. A group of men, fully masked and in dark plainclothes, then jumped out of this mysterious vehicle and began yelling at Jajuan," Smith said.

They said Jajuan Henderson reached for his cellphone to call the mother of his child for support.

"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," said Smith.

But the police report paints a different picture. In it, officers said Henderson accelerated a vehicle at a high rate of speed and struck two parked cars while attempting to flee an arrest.

Henderson's advocates are calling for transparency. They've requested to see police body camera footage.

"Despite being unarmed, non-threatening and minding his own business, these officers proceeded to use lethal force and shoot Jajuan in the neck. It is a miracle that Jajuan survived," Smith said.

"What happened to Jajuan Henderson is not an isolated incident. It is indicative of the problem of police brutality that exists in this state," said Larry Hamm, chairman of the People's Organization for Progress.

The investigation is being handled by the Mercer County Prosecutor's Officer. All four officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.