Ervin Jefferson

Ervin Jefferson, 18, was fatally shot outside his family's DeKalb County, Georgia home on March 24, 2012 by a private apartment-complex security guard—not a police officer.

What happened

Jefferson returned to the Pleasantwood Drive home with his mother and sister as a confrontation developed involving young women who had allegedly been harassing his sister. Curtis Scott and Gary Jackson, security guards from the nearby Village at Wesley Chapel apartment complex, left their assigned property and confronted people on the street. Authorities said the guards claimed to be police officers. Jefferson approached the disturbance and Scott shot him in the torso. Jefferson was unarmed. His mother disputed the guards' description that he approached threateningly; witnesses also raised questions about a vehicle striking his body. The family's call for accountability focused on the private guards' lack of authority and why an argument near the family's home turned fatal.

Investigation & findings

Scott and Jackson faced allegations/charges of impersonating police officers. The reporting reviewed here does not establish a final homicide conviction; do not label them sworn police personnel.

What happened

Investigation & findings

Sources & records