MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A mother claims she’s been kept in the dark by law enforcement since they shot and killed her son in Frayser eight months ago.
Jaleta Clark said she’s running out of options after repeatedly reaching out to law enforcement for more information about the death of her son Brandon Webber, who was shot and killed by U.S. Marshals in June 2019 when they tried to arrest him on multiple felony warrants.
Clark expressed her concerns to Memphis City Council on Tuesday.
“As a mother, the son that I knew and the person I raised was totally different from the person I was introduced that day,” she said.
Authorities say Webber rammed his car into officers’ cruisers before he jumped out with an unidentified weapon. That’s when officers reportedly opened fire.
Webber’s death sparked anger in his neighborhood. Violent protests erupted throughout the night.
“He was killed. He was scraped up. I was told to accept the fact he did this and that’s his punishment,” said Clark.
She told WREG she later learned what the warrants were for. Her son was accused of shooting a man and stealing his car in Hernando, Mississippi earlier that month.
She said she continues to ask for the evidence from that crime to better understand what happened.
“They didn’t tell me, ‘This is what we found, this is what we know, this is what brought us to your son,'” she said.
Webber’s father, Sonny Webber, also expressed frustration at the council meeting.
“We haven’t heard from TBI or anyone from the city about the investigation. We at least asked for the autopsy report to see at least how many times my son was shot,” he said.
The TBI said it can’t comment on the case since it’s still an ongoing investigation. Mississippi investigators have yet to comment, either.
Officials at the Shelby County District Attorney’s office said they haven’t received the investigative files. It’s unclear when that will happen and whether the DA will make the files public.
In the meantime, Clark said the council gave her a number of an organization that may be able to get her and her family counseling.
“The family needs any support they can get, whether their loved one is in the right or the wrong. I’m not the guilty party. I need to know again how to get over this hill. How to get over grieving for a child,” she said.
