A black man who recently defended the police and boasted about his love for white women was fatally shot on Saturday.
Jonathan Price of Wolfe City, Texas, was trying to break up a fight when he was shot and killed by Shaun Lucas, a white police officer.
Authorities have released few details on the incident but have informed the public that an investigation has been launched, Fox4News reports. The Texas Rangers will lead the investigation, and for now, Officer Lucas has been placed on administrative leave.
Price’s family says the incident occurred at a Kwik Check gas station, where he saw a domestic dispute taking place between a man and a woman. Price reportedly tried to intervene, and that is when an officer arrived on the scene, KTXS News reports.
Although it has yet to be confirmed, the family believes the officer may have thought the two men were fighting.
Sometime during the altercation, a taser was deployed, and then the officer fired shots. Price was shot multiple times and died. He was later identified by his family, but police have yet released that information on their end.
Price was known as a mentor who worked for the city, and witnesses at the scene said he was doing the right thing.
“Didn’t think that was the last time I would see him, he was walking out the truck, going with his friends with a smile on his face…he always smile…now he’s gone,” Price’s mother, Marcella Louis, said.
“Everybody loves Jonathan, everybody, Black, white, Mexicans, everybody. It don’t matter, he loved everybody, and they loved him,” Price’s sister, April Louis, said.
“He had a good heart. He always tried to help others,” Marcella added. “They took my son from me. They took my baby.”
In June, Price posted a Facebook post saying he had never had a negative encounter with police; in fact, he spoke highly of the police in Texas.
“There were times I should have been detained for speeding, outstanding citations, outdated registration, dozing off at a red light before making it to my garage downtown Dallas after a lonnng night out,” Price said. “I’ve passed a sobriety test after leaving a bar in Wylie, Texas by 2 white cops and still let me drive to where I was headed, and by the way they consider Wylie, Texas to be VERY racist. I’ve never got that kind of ENERGY from the po-po.”
“Not saying black lives don’t matter but don’t forget about your own, or your experiences through growth / ‘waking up,’” said Price.
