Protesters call for justice and change for the man shot to death by Kennewick police
Gordon Whitaker’s friends and adopted family are looking for answers and justice.
They came to the Kennewick Police Department on Saturday along with about 30 other Black Lives Matter supporters in a protest focused on the investigation of Whitaker’s shooting death by Kennewick officers.
“Gordon was a good guy, and he made some bad choices, but he loved everybody,” said Tia Hunter, the mother of one of Whitaker’s sons. “He didn’t deserve to die that way.”
Rebecca Corff, the adopted mother of one of Whitaker’s sons, and Isaiah Hunter, who was taken in by Whitaker, said Whitaker had a hard life, but made sure that he took care of his children and his friends.
Whitaker was a suspect in a Jan. 15 robbery in Richland, when Kennewick officers contacted him and another man near the corner of Fruitland Street and Columbia Drive on Feb. 9.
When officers were detaining Whitaker, the West Richland resident allegedly pulled out a gun and at least one officer shot him, Kennewick police Lt. Aaron Clem said in a news release at the time.
Few other details about the shooting have been released pending an independent investigation by the Special Investigations Unit by officers from different police agencies.
The file has gone to Benton County Prosecutor’s Office to review if the use of force was justified.
The shooting has been the focus of a change.org petition that is looking for Kennewick police to fire the three officers involved in the shooting — Becca Henry, Zach Moore and Dylan Markley. So far, it’s collected more than 24,000 signatures.
The petition claims Whitaker was shot six times in the back while Henry held him down.
Blackformation, a group headed by Eugene Vi, organized Saturday’s protest. His group is calling for body cameras for Kennewick police and disbanding the Special Investigations Unit.
He doesn’t believe the unit can be a neutral outside agency, he said. The circumstances around Whitaker’s death will always be in doubt because it will depend on whose version of the story is to be believed because Kennewick police don’t have body cameras. Pasco is the only Tri-Cities police agency with body cameras.
“There needs to be third-party investigators, especially in Kennewick,” Vi said. “This is our request. This is something that needs to happen. Police can’t investigate other police.”
Vi was happy with the turnout and he feels like there has been progress in the Tri-Cities area.
This story was originally published August 15, 2020 at 4:42 PM.