In February of 2014, 14-year-old Andrew Joseph III from Riverview was killed as he tired to cross Interstate 4 on foot after he was ejected from the Florida State Fair in Tampa. The teen was one of more than 100 young people kicked out of the event after deputies said a stampede of teenagers rushed through the midway.
The family has previously indicated that they intended to sue the Florida State Fair Authority and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, which provides security at the fair.
While making an appearance in Tampa in September, Orlando area U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Alan Grayson met with Andrew’s parents and said he would pursue the Justice Department to investigate the tragic loss of life. On Thursday, Grayson followed up on his promise, penning a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch calling for both a Justice and FBI investigation.
In the letter, Grayson reiterates that all of the teens ejected from the State Fair during the “Student Day” event were black, and “it has been alleged” that all of the ejecting deputies were white.
“Andrew was forced to take off some his clothes, for the stated purpose of allowing the police to check for gang-related tattoos,” Grayson writes. “He was photographed, and information about him was entered into a database. With no evidence of wrongdoing, or even suspicion of wrongdoing, the police nevertheless removed Andrew (a 14-year-old without adult supervision) from the Fair, by patrol car. The police released Andrew well away from the Fair, by petrol car. The police released Andrew well away from the Fair, near four busy thoroughfares, two of them Interstate highways. At no time did the Sheriff’s Office attempt to contact Andrew’s parents, or direct him to do so.”
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