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Wife of suspect killed by Richmond Police says he wouldn’t be taken alive

Posted at 10:34 PM, May 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-16 23:32:27-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- A Richmond mother has the tough task of telling her five children that dad is never coming home.

The officer-involved shooting Monday on Lynhaven Avenue stemmed from an earlier argument between Jaison Fitzgerald and his father-in-law.

De'Maurice Fitzgerald told CBS 6 Tuesday that her husband fired two shots at her father off Armfield Way. "He told my dad that he felt like he was taking his family away," said Fitzgerald.

She said Jaison was mad that she spent Mother’s Day with her dad instead of with him.

“I tried to get him to leave and calm down because I know his mindset," Fitzgerald said.

Jaison Fitzgerald

A “Be-on-the-look-out” was broadcast to police, and Crime Insider sources say officers spotted Fitzgerald driving on the city's Southside. Police were able to get him to stop on Lynhaven where witnesses heard police give commands, followed by a shot fired.

"I heard a very commanding voice say, “Stop… drop the weapon!" said a neighbor who didn’t want to be identified.

Fitzgerald was shot in the chest. He was transported to VCU Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.

“I gotta’ figure out how I'm going to tell my kids,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald says her husband was the father of seven children, five with her.

“Are you mad at the officer?” CBs 6 reporter Jon Burkett asked.

“No, because it's what Jaison talked about,” he replied.

De'Maurice Fitzgerald

She says he frequently mentioned he wasn't going back to jail, hinting that police would have to take him dead rather than alive.

"He always said ‘til death do us part,’" she said.

And parting with her husband is the most painful thing the mother of five has dealt with. She says regardless of his prior charges, Jaison Fitzgerald was good to his kids.

"Very good father, he loved his kids, he loved to go fishing and do his own thing," Fitzgerald said.

The Fitzgerald children range from ages five to ten.

The officer involved in the shooting is on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation, in accordance with Richmond Police policy.

Police have spoken to neighbors who witnessed what happened, but asked anyone who saw, heard, or recorded the incident to contact Detective W. Thompson at 804-646-3925.

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