A Cincinnati family wants more answers after a rural Kentucky deputy shot and killed their loved one on May 29.
Photos of 48-year-old Terry Jackson are circulating on social media with the hastag #JusticeForTerry as family tries to bring attention to the officer-involved shooting that led to his death.
“Someone may get away with something that they don’t deserve to get away with,” said LaTrisha Fail, Jackson’s niece.
She said her uncle lived in Maysville, Kentucky, and left behind three children, the youngest of whom is three years old.
“He's always been a great uncle," Fail said. "He taught my sister to walk when she was little. Any, like, home improvements for my grandmother's house, anything, he was, like, so good with stuff like that."
Kentucky State Police are investigating the shooting because it involved law enforcement. Investigators believe Jackson and his fiancée were driving near Highway 32 and Highway 111 in neighboring Fleming County around 4:30 p.m. on March 29.
Deputy Justin Conley claimed he saw the couple fighting inside the vehicle at that time and tried to pull them over. State police said Conley said Jackson got out of the vehicle and ran into a wooded area fourteen miles away in Lewisburg. Conley said they got into a physical struggle, and he shot Jackson.
The Fleming County Sheriff’s Office does not provide body or dash cameras to deputies.
“It's pretty much his word against his, and he's not here, you know what I mean?” Fail said.
It took nearly two weeks for Kentucky State Police to release Conley's name.
WCPO was able to get general locations involved in the case on Thursday. However, an agency spokesperson did not know specifically where the shooting happened. Investigators say they are still gathering witness statements.
The family has buried Jackson.
The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office in Cincinnati is handling the autopsy, which is not finalized. Pending homicide cases are not public record.
Family members said that is an important document for them.
“It's going to have to coincide with his story, so. So, that's the only hope that we have,” said Fail.
Conley, 27, has worked for Fleming County Sheriff’s Office for five years. He has been placed on administrative leave per the department’s policies and procedures.
