$1.3 Million Settlement For Children Of Man Killed By Asbury Park Cop

ASBURY PARK, NJ — The city of Asbury Park agreed to settle for $1.3 million with the children of a man who was shot and killed by a city police officer in 2020, according to NJ.com and the Asbury Park Press.

Hasani Best, 39, was fatally shot by Asbury Park Police Sgt. Sean DeShader on Aug. 21, 2020. The fatal shooting occurred three months after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

DeShader shot Best after responding to a domestic disturbance 911 call and while Best was standing in the doorway of his apartment. Best was holding a knife at the time he was shot, according to then-NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. The Attorney General investigated the incident, presented its findings to a grand jury, but the jury declined to indict the officer on criminal charges.

Here is a 7-minute police body camera video of the police standoff with Best, and subsequent fatal shooting. Viewer discretion is advised.

A year after the shooting, in 2021, Best's family filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Asbury Park, the Asbury Park Police Department and the Monmouth County Sheriff. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Best's three children: Dayvon Jelani White, now 25, and his younger siblings, a boy, now 6, and a girl, now 5, who were babies when their father was killed.

White was named administrator of his slain father's estate.

The city of Asbury Park agreed to settle with Best's estate on Dec. 18, NJ.com reported. In settling with the children, the city admitted no wrongdoing by the police officer.

Best's oldest child, White, will receive a $150,000 lump payout, according to the Asbury Park Press. However, his two younger children will be given $431,250 and $426,905, which will be put into annuities and given to them when they reach 18 and 23. The two law firms that represented the children will both receive $143,750 in attorney fees, the Asbury Park Press reported.

The Attorney General published this summary here of what happened that night:

August 21, 2020 was a Friday night. Multiple members of the Asbury Park Police responded to a report of a loud domestic dispute inside a two-family home at 915 4th Avenue. When police arrived, the woman and man, identified as Best, involved in the dispute were at the home. The woman was outside the home and Best barricaded himself in an upstairs apartment.

Asbury Park Police and Monmouth County sheriff’s officers "tried to negotiate with Mr. Best through the door of the apartment in an effort to end the standoff," said the Attorney General. "During the incident, Mr. Best opened the door at various times, revealing that he was armed with a knife. Mr. Best continued to hold the knife despite repeated requests from the police to drop the knife."

Police used a Taser on Best, but it was ineffective, said the AG.

During the standoff, police repeatedly asked Best to come out of his locked apartment and drop the knife he was holding. Best asks officers to give him his phone back. The video shows officers even laughing and joking with Best, before Best abruptly says "I'm gonna stab him," and one officer (DeShader) immediately discharges his service weapon, firing at Best at least twice.

"Mr. Best remained armed with the knife, and at approximately 10:10 p.m., an Asbury Park officer shot and fatally wounded him," said the Attorney General. Best was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune where he was pronounced dead at 10:31 p.m.

Best's children's lawsuit alleged that the police officer was wrong to kill their father. The children say that their father did not provoke the officer during the 45-minute negotiation between Best and police. The children also say the standoff could have been resolved peacefully had the officer who shot him been better trained.

Video Of Police-Involved Shooting Death In Asbury Park Released (Sept. 2020)