Memorial Fund for Demetrius Stanley

Dear community, we are asking you to come together to support the family of Demetrius Stanley.

Background

Demetrius Stanley was loved by many members of the community. He was a kind, caring, and beautiful soul. Demetrius grew up in North East San Jose, and lived with his grandmother and father. Tragically, Demetrius was taken from us on the night of May 31, 2021, senselessly killed by SJPD officers only weeks after his most recent birthday. He leaves behind a beautiful daughter who also lives in San Jose, as well as a host of family and friends who cared about him deeply.


The night of his murder:

After spending the Memorial Day holiday out with his girlfriend, Demetrius returned home, where he, his girlfriend, and several other family members were enjoying a quiet evening during the moments leading up to his death.


Later that night, sometime after 9 PM, Demetrius was alerted to suspicious activity directly outside of his home and promptly went out to investigate. As it turns out, he was being followed by two people he did not know. These strange, suspicious individuals who were lurking outside of his family home in the night were only later revealed to be San Jose police officers, a fact never known by Demetrius. After a brief encounter with him, the officer(s) shot Demetrius dead. These officers were out of uniform - plainclothed, in an unmarked car, and did not identify themselves as law enforcement at any point.


Uniformed police officers who later arrived on the scene then proceeded to handcuff and harass the girlfriend, father, and grandmother of Demetrius, who remained uninformed of his killing. They ran through the house, needlessly destroying the family’s property and making a mess, while Demetrius lay dead on the street, in front of his home, for a number of hours. 


Our Goal

On May 31, 2021, Demetrius Stanley was callously killed by the SJPD. The family would welcome support in order to lay their son to rest, access mental health resources, afford time off while they grieve, and to pursue any potential legal avenues, if and when the family may decide to do so. Right now, we are hoping to raise $30K for the services above. 


Important Note

The mother of Demetrius Stanley, Mimi LeBreton, is listed as a beneficiary of this GoFundMe and will have all funds withdrawn into her account directly. 

This fundraising is brought to you by H.E.R.O. Tent, a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of affected families of police violence.
To clarify, Kiana Simmons is the president of H.E.R.O. Tent, and Kiki Lebrenton is the aunt of Demetrius who worked on setting up this fundraiser.

The family has been working with us every step of this GoFundMe process. We thank you for your donation, you have truly made a difference in supporting the family of Demetrius Stanley. Thank you.