32 year old Black man found hanging in carport in Grand Junction

DeAndre Rogers

In an alarming case that has received little to no attention, Deandre H. Rogers (pdf), a Black man aged 32, was found hanging in a carport in Grand Junction, Colorado on September 21, 2020. He had participated on June 1, 2020 with a group of local Black Lives Matter activists who met with G.J. Police Chief Doug Shoemaker in the lobby of the Grand Junction Police Department to protest unjust treatment they had experienced at the hands of local law enforcement. The discussion took place about a month after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police on May 25, 2020.

Rogers can be seen about two minutes into this video of the discussion in the G.J.P.D. lobby that day shot by KREX’s Star Harvey. Rogers is wearing a black UnderArmour hoodie with a white stripe down the sleeves, and he tells Police Chief Shoemaker about an encounter he had with police that he found extremely disturbing and unfair. (WARNING: There is some profanity near the beginning of the video by other participants.)

Traffic stop

Rogers appears about two minutes into the video, describing an incident to Chief Shoemaker in which he (DeAndre) was in a car that got pulled over on North Ave. near the homeless shelter. Rogers says police ordered him out of the car. An officer came over and took a bag of marijuana out of Rogers’ pants pocket. The officer asked Rogers what was in the bag, and Rogers told the officer the bag contained marijuana. Rogers said the officer held the bag up to his body camera and showed it to another officer and then put the marijuana back in Rogers pocket. The officer then gave Rogers a sobriety test in which he asked Rogers to count to the number 30. Rogers counted to 30, and the officer told him he passed the test, yet the officers arrested Rogers for a DUI, even though he said he wasn’t driving. The officers found a locked safe in the car and asked Rogers if he had the key to open it. Rogers said he did, but the officers broke into the box anyway, without waiting for Rogers to open it. Rogers was booked into the jail and charged with a DUI and bringing marijuana into the jail, because the officer had given him back the bag of marijuana. Rogers says he spent 20 days in jail and had to agree to a plea bargain in order to get released. When he finally left the jail, Rogers says, he was given his clothes back, but someone had urinated on them, so jail personnel gave him scrub pants to wear instead. Rogers says that they also “took one of my shoes, just to embarrass me.”

The Grand Junction Police Department would not supply any information on the case, saying the case of Rogers’ hanging death “is currently an open investigation so there is no releasable information available at this time.”

The police and coroner reportedly have both ruled Rogers’ death a suicide, even though the G.J.P.D. said October 22 that the case is currently “an open investigation,” and the family disputes the conclusion.

Local media has not reported on Rogers’ hanging death, which occurs amid a rash of other young men  being found hanged across the country.

DeAndre Rogers, from the family’s GoFundMe page

Rogers’ death has not been reported locally, except on social media. A family friend created a GoFundMe page to help collect donations to pay for Rogers’ funeral.

The case joins a rash of other suspected lynchings of young Black men throughout the U.S. which come in a time of mass protests about racism. All those incidents were ruled suicides, and most of the families have disputed the conclusions.

The Orlando, Fl Sentinel reported on October 13 that the body of 22 year old Nevan Baker, was found hanging from a tree. The police ruled the death a suicide, which the family disputes.

On May 31, the body of Malcom Harsch was found hanging from a tree outside the public library in Victorville, California. Harsch’s family does not believe the death was a suicide.

In June, a 24 year old Black man, Robert Fuller, was found hanging from a tree in Palmdale, California, next to a church and outside a library. Authorities ruled the death a suicide, but an outcry among citizens caused authorities to re-open the case.

Also in June, the body of a 17 year old Black male was found hanging from a tree on the playground of an elementary school in Houston. Around that same time, a hispanic man was found hanging in an area of Houston called Shady Acres.

Similar incidents have also occurred in 2020 in North Sacramento, CA, Atlanta, GA, Orlando, FL, Ocean County, NJ, Morrison Green, NJ, and Manhattan, NY.

A YouTube video about Rogers’ death appears here.

DeAndre Rogers was the father of eight children.

  19 comments for “32 year old Black man found hanging in carport in Grand Junction

  1. Since the beginning of Grand junction cops have been the murderers. Period the 1st 5 murders in grand junction in 1895 were by cops, sheriffs or Marshall’s. Hell the 3rd killing the sheriff killed a man for no reason and was found by Marshall’s hiding in the Mayors home in his bedroom. This town has been jankie since the get. I found human remains of both a newborn baby and an adult dug up from an unmarked grave. I contacted CBI and guess what? Nothing was done swept under the rug. I’ve come across burned remains on property thats owned by a person that lives in Florida back yard is a boat dock but they reside primarily here in junction? Wtf? My family’s blood is in this dirt we been here 150 years I may be a hillbilly but all lives matter. These fucks hear of Marshall law? I see a new war on the horizon……they can’t kill us all can they? By the way a nurse at the jail here in junction injected me with HIV. Best believe im coming for blood, bloodlines, and im bringing thr hanging man and lawyers with me so help me God!

  2. Who wouldnt expect this to happen in Grand Junction? This hick town is FULL of hillbilly a$$h0l3s that lack culture and diversity. Now I do understand that not everyone in GJ is like that, including the ones in this post discussion. But the other 80% who cant take the time out of there busy day of monster trucks, meth addiction and racism, are unfortunately the majority here and therefore that means the police are too. The GJ police are just well dressed hillbillies is all. But they are no different than the tobacco chewing, bumpkin, pig farmers or whatever, that they were raised by and grew up with. If this town wasnt like that, how come the ethnic population is so low?

    • Boy, nothing like fighting supposed bigotry with outright overt bigotry. You know prejudice is prejudice, regardless whether it’s based on race, gender, religion, political affiliation, upbringing, or even the type of vehicle one drives? I realize that might be tough to grasp when you’re that high on your moral ground.

      • Not thinking highly of the retard hillbillies that live in this town, with the big flags on their stupid oversized dipsh*t mobiles, could be called prejudice. But this place is the only place I’ve ever witnessed outright open racism and segregation in my whole life. I lived in a few major cities and I can honestly say that this place takes the cake in, good ol boy, no culture having, brown people hating, Toby Keith tattoo loving redneck behavior.
        The level of prejudice I may have just shown is nothing in comparison to what the unwashed Huns in this sh**hole, live everyday. Lol

  3. It doesnt surprise me. The GJPD are nothing more than domestic terrorists. Officer Sgt. Tayofia instagated a domestic terrorists situation,she arrested me for harrasment. I was set up like a bowling pin to get evidence off my phone against the GJPD. Instead of taking me to jail she left me frying in a car at the cop shop parking lot for over an hour. Then came out took off the handcuffs and said I was free to go. I staggered over to Whitman park and collapsed, glad to be alive. I smoked pariquat in the 70’s and that situation along with all the forest fires made the next few weeks REAL interesting! And since my buddy gave the city atty and the head hog evidence of them burning out homeless camps-they fit the FBI’s description of domestic terrorists! or proof of a sexual assault,or cops beating the shit out of somebody while a cop behind the camera sez quit resisting! or a friend in a wheelchair getting arrested,then the film messes up then he’s in a dumpster screaming engulfed in flames. HOW THE HELL DID HE GET IN THERE?

  4. This smells very bad, an unusual suicide method and incident such as this must be investigated! The country is clearly showing that it is not just a bad apple but an entire system rotten to the core. Lots of white nationals wearing the blue with unlimited power over peoples lives given the go ahead by the Racist Con man in the white house!

  5. It is possible that the police correctly concluded these deaths were suicides. There are thousands of suicides every day. When the public concludes that these deaths were NOT suicides — without any evidence — they do society a disservice.

  6. Thank you for bringing the bogus police stop and “suicide” to light.

    Since the White Power House in DC declared open season on persons of color, attacks, deaths and “suicides” have crescendoed. Our law enforcement establishment doesn’t have body cams as a priority because such cameras increase transparency.

    It is essential that the public legally record police stops because the police will not police itself.

    • I completely agree with your comments. It’s no secret that the GJPD and MCSO are dirty. There is gross abuse of their power. I do not trust Greg Shoemaker nor Matt Lewis to be honest and straightforward.

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