‘They deserve full transparency’: Civil rights attorney Ben Crump to represent families of man, boy killed in deputy-involved shooting in Cocoa

COCOA, Fla. — The civil rights attorney who has represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor is now representing the families of a man and a boy who were shot and killed by a Brevard County deputy last week.

Attorney Ben Crump announced Tuesday that he will represent the families of Angelo “A.J.” Crooms, 16, and Sincere Pierce, 18, who died after being shot by a deputy in Cocoa, Florida, on Friday.

READ: Deputy fatally shot boy, 16, man, 18, in Cocoa neighborhood Friday

“These parents are heartbroken, as any parents would be,” Crump said in a statement. “They deserve full transparency and speedy answers about who is responsible for the deaths and the circumstances surrounding their shootings.”

The shooting happened at 10:30 a.m. Friday near Stetson Drive South and Ivy Drive.

READ: 2 injured in deputy-involved shooting in Cocoa neighborhood

Officials said they were investigating an earlier incident in which a vehicle fled from an attempted traffic stop at U.S. 1 and State Road 528.

“A vehicle was observed in the area of Stetson Drive and Ivy Drive in Cocoa, where deputies attempted to make contact with the occupants,” said Tod Goodyear, a sheriff’s office spokesperson. “At that time, a deputy-involved shooting incident occurred.”

Goodyear did not provide any details about what led up to the shooting.

“For two young Black teens just beginning their lives to be ended is a tragedy and a terrible loss to their families and to the community,” Crump said.

Channel 9 reporter Mel Holt is digging in to this story and will have the latest updates starting at 4 p.m. on Eyewitness News.

2 men injured in deputy-involved shooting in Cocoa neighborhood The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 9 on Friday afternoon that two people were injured in a shooting involving a deputy in a Cocoa neighborhood.