On Christmas night, 2022, a family in Des Moines who was already suffering from a tragedy, was thrown into even further nightmarish despair. A 16yr old named Tre, who was already grieving the loss of his older brother just a month prior, was experiencing a mental health crisis. Despite making this clear to the police officers on scene, instead of de-escalating the situation as their training should dictate, they escalated it - shining flashlights into Tre's eyes and shouting over each other until only chaos remained. Amidst this chaos and panic created by those who were supposed to protect him, Tre remained calm. He did not yell; he did not threaten anyone. He just wanted his mom and repeatedly asked for her because the police had forced her out of the room. 

  Yet still, Trevontay was killed. By three of the four officers on scene & shot more than 14 times in the face, torso, back, hand and multiple other areas. He dropped to his knees and dropped his phone after the first shot (he was actually talking to an older brother on FaceTime when the police opened fire), yet they kept firing their weapons and riddling his body with bullets. Then, as he lay lifeless on the floor, they roughly manhandled him and cuffed him.

  Now we are left with unanswered questions and unhealed wounds. The police claim one story that you may have heard in the news and online; we, however, know what they have released to the public is not the truth. Those of us that were there and witnessed the murder of Tre know that the police and the state have lied since the moment it happened in an effort to save and protect themselves. The police officers who fired their weapons and their higher ups who run the city of Des Moines know that the excessiveness, the overkill, and the senseless murder of a black 16 year old child should not have happened and could have easily been prevented. Officers knew Tre was having a mental health crisis. It was obvious Tre was never was a threat to anyone other than himself. Other strategies & techniques could have been done and should have been done. They know that their actions in the minutes leading up to the senseless barrage of bullets was also wrong and not what they are trained to do. He was a kid…. A child in crisis. They say they tried to deescalate the situation but in what world does multiple officers screaming different things all at once or screaming over an officer who is actually talking to who the other are screaming at qualify in any way as deescalation tactics or strategies? And how do they figure repeatedly mentioning and promising jail (which was only scaring him more) qualify as well? The officers on scene did nothing other than create a chaotic, terrifying and excessively intimidating atmosphere and scene not only for Tre and those of us present but also in part for themselves. Combine the chaos and resulting confusion stemming from the chaos they created with blatant disregard for human life (especially anyone who is of color) and you get twitchy trigger fingers.

  There have been multiple other instances involving people (white) threaten cops with weapons, have standoffs, shoot at police, etc and get to live and are treated with dignity, respect, and compassion. They didn’t get killed, shot at or even roughed up and some even get off with just a slap on the wrist for their actions. Where’s the equality and fairness? This is why we believe DMPD officers killed an innocent boy because he was black and he was perceived as a threat with narrow minds and poor training or lack of training rather than being perceived as a kid who just needed help. Officers Noah Bolinger and Thomas Garcia have been involved in multiple other instances of excessive use of force, abuse of power, and assault. They along with Officer Zachary Duitscher and other legal and local political powers have a history of omitting things in reports and what they release to the public and just flat out lying in order to protect themselves rather than protect the citizens of Des Moines like they are supposed to due. Many believe racism and sexism play a major role in DMPD and its officers actions and behaviors. Many also are well aware of past and present lawsuits against the department because of this. Corruption does exist within the Des Moines Police Department. 

   Trevontay Lee Jenkins was a 16 year old kid who had so much promise and talent and ambition, who had friends and family who cared about him more than he knew and who had so much life to live, a life taken from him in a manner that is not only senseless but is also so cold and callous. There isn’t any sense of remorse or respect by any officer involved nor from anyone from the DMPD in general or from the city. PD even continues to harass and target members of Trevontay’s family. 

  Recently, The City of Des Moines had their motion, to dismiss the lawsuit against them and the officers along with their motion to keep the body cam footage of officers shooting and killing Tre sealed, denied by a Supreme Court judge. Although this is a small victory, your help is greatly needed. The judge needs good reason to rule in unsealing the body cams.
 
  The purpose of this petition is threefold… with the support of you and the community, I believe it will help. Transparency with the body cam footage is crucial as they show the truth about what really happened Christmas night in 2022 and the circumstances stances surrounding the murder of Trevontay Jenkins. We have another goal in mind as well, and that is to have the officers who shot Tre terminated and removed from the force and for the justification ruling for officers shooting and killing Tre be overturned. Please help with getting the justice for Trevontay Lee Jenkins that he deserves.

  Please, Please, Please share this petition with as many people as possible. The truth has been hidden, altered, and stifled by the police and the media and we need everyone to know what the really happened. And hopefully this will encourage others who have been victims of abuse of force, being racially profiled/targeted, having their rights violated, etc by a DMPD officer or any officer or person in power, to come forward with their stories and hopefully spark change not only in our communities but more importantly in the law enforcement community, to not let officers get away with crimes they themselves commit, along with better training and change in protocols and procedures.

  By signing this petition, you stand with us in getting Justice for Trevontay Jenkins and demand the following:

*TRANSPARENCY- the body cam footage be released to the public

*OFFICERS Noah Bollinger, Zachary Duitscher, and Thomas Garcia be removed from the DMPD police force

*The previous ruling of the actions of Officers Noah Bollinger, Zachary Duitscher, and Thomas Garcia on 12/26/2022 as Justified be overturned so they can be held accountable for their actions

Help be Tre’s voice, Please Sign and Share!

-Thank you