Nearly 100 people gathered Thursday night outside the home of a married father of nine to honor his life and mourn his death after a shooting involving Broward Sheriff’s deputies.
Loved ones said Jerrell “Band-Aid” Dolison, 37, was struggling and needed help, not deadly force.
Deputies said Dolison fired his gun before they opened fire, but his family disputes that account and is demanding justice.
A life cut short
“They called him Band-Aid,” one friend said of Dolison. Family members shared memories, grief and handwritten notes on his clothes, still stained with loss.
“I just want to know why. Why they had to do him like that? Why?” his mother, Wendy Dolison said. “I mean everywhere else they go, they negotiate.”
Chilling final moments
Dolison’s last moments were captured on livestreamed video Sunday as his family prepared to move to New Orleans. 911 callers warned deputies of a man waving a gun outside.
Video shows Dolison walking out of his home with one hand raised and the other holding a gun to his head before retreating inside. A deputy followed, and then gunfire erupted.
“Dolison ran back into the residence where one person was still inside. Dolison fired his gun resulting in the deputy discharging his weapon,” a Broward Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said in a statement.
His family disagrees.
Calls for accountability
Dolison’s cousin, Shakira McFadden, said the family is waiting on the legal process but wants accountability.
“The lawyer process is taking place. The truth will eventually come out. But while they were able to go home to their families, you’ve got nine children without a father,” McFadden said.
“He called the police for help,” Wendy Dolison said, and deputies failed to understand his behavior.
“Nobody took the time to say why he was acting the way he was acting. Everybody was saying that was not his normal behavior. And if everybody is saying that’s his normal behavior, us as a community if we say we love him, it’s our job to find out why.”
Children speak, community rallies
Two of Dolison’s children spoke at the vigil, expressing love and loss before the teary-eyed crowd.
“I love you since I was born,” one said. Another added, “Even though he’s not here, to me he’s still here.”
Dolison’s family, now without its primary breadwinner, collected donations during the vigil to help support his nine children and keep their home.
Ongoing investigation
Dolison’s mother said she wants the deputy who opened fire disciplined. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
