by Dylan Bradley/ne news editor
Michelle Hansford, the mother of Jordan Hatcher who was killed by a police officer on SE Campus last year, is seeking damages and maintains that her son never stole anything.
Last year, Hatcher was shot four times by Grand Prairie police officer Wesley Bement in a SE Campus parking lot.
“It was the dreaded call in the middle of the night that’s every parent’s nightmare,” said Hansford, who spoke publicly with The Collegian for the first time about the shooting. “It’s probably a pain that should kill you instantly. It’s not natural for a parent to lose a child.”
The incident began at a Target on state Highway 360 over what police said was the attempted theft of a video game controller. After a brief struggle with an officer, Hatcher fled the scene to a SE Campus parking lot. He was then surrounded by five TCC Campus police, pepper-sprayed and hit with a stun gun before Bement shot him.
Now suing Bement for use of excessive force and the city of Grand Prairie for gross negligence, Hansford is seeking damages in excess of a million dollars.
Grand Prairie police did not respond to attempts to contact them for comment.
Hansford’s attorney Darren Wolf said the suit will focus on the use of excessive force.
“Not one of those officers [TCC police] felt it necessary to draw their weapons,” he said. “Bement was the only one who drew his weapon and was the only one who fired.”
Wolf also said there is no evidence that Hatcher stole anything.
“We have seen nothing that he actually had any stolen merchandise on his person,” he said. “There was no stolen merchandise found anywhere on his body. There was nothing in any record we’ve read where they found him or caught him stealing that day.”
Wolf said there was suspicion that Hatcher had been there before attempting or stealing a Wii remote controller, so Target called the police.
Hansford said she prefers to remember her son as the captain of his high school hockey team and as a crash and fire rescue Marine.
“He was very caring, very loving, with so many friends and family,” she said. “He had a real passion for life.”
Hansford and Jordan’s father, Jeff Hatcher, were both Marines, one of the reasons Jordan Hatcher was proud to serve. He was stationed in San Diego during his service, and one of his friends who served with him there told Hansford that on his time off Hatcher walked the streets giving money and food to the homeless.
Hatcher continued helping the homeless after returning to Texas.
“He never wanted to pass them up,” she said. “He said, ‘You never know when they could be one of God’s angels.’”
The case still awaits a trial date. Hansford says she won’t get closure regardless of the results of the trial.
“I don’t want to see this happen to another family,” she said. “If there’s anything I think I can do, I’m going to do something.”
