EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) – Next week, Hartford-based basketball coach Dean Jones is heading to a tournament in Florida.
One of his players, Jakhi Perry, was supposed to be there.
“He had a good spirit with him. That’s how I’ll remember him. That’s how we’ll carry his legacy on,” Jones said.
The deadly incident began at the Triple-A Diner on Main Street where Perry and his friends allegedly dined and dashed.
Bodycam video shows officers were willing to bring Perry back to the diner to pay the full $140 tab without him or his friends being charged with a crime.
Police wanted to pat Perry down for everyone’s safety.
That is when he started getting uncomfortable.
“Keep your hands behind your back. You keep doing this thing where you’re digging in your pockets. I don’t know if you have anything in your pockets,” one officer is heard saying in the bodycam video.
That is when Perry flees the scene. An officer chases him, but loses him.
“I heard a gunshot! Shots fired! Shots fired!” the officer yells. “There’s a shot fired. I think he shot himself in his leg.”
Police say Perry shot himself in the leg. He died during surgery.
Jones has been in close contact with Perry’s devastated mother.
“She’s seen the video. She didn’t have too much to say. She’s just processing. She just wants to lay her baby to rest and support the other 7 children she has,” Jones said. “It’s a tragic, sad situation, but we are going to have live with it. It’s traumatic for a lot of young people, and we have to deal with those babies right now.”
Police say Perry’s gun was stolen out of South Windsor.
“What I do know is that that’s not who he was. I know he was a loving person, a caring person, and this is going to take a toll on a lot of people,” Jones said.
The other three people with Perry that day were charged with larceny.
Channel 3 was told Perry’s funeral is Saturday.
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