A stream of over 20 vehicles blocked off the intersections at Mt. Moriah and American Way Saturday afternoon, with people wearing black and red shirts as they walked and chanted "Justice for Jaylin."

The caravan had made its first stop after leaving the Mt. Moriah precinct and people were protesting on their way to American Way Park, where a rally for the dead 20-year-old Jaylin McKenzie would take place.

Ashley McKenzie-Smith, the mother of Jaylin, along with friends and family were calling on the Memphis Police Department to release the names of the officers involved in the fatal shooting and video of the incident.

McKenzie was shot and killed by an MPD officer following a traffic stop in December 2022. His death was part of a string of five police shootings in Memphis that rounded out the final five weeks of last year.

Little information was provided by authorities about the shooting, with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation saying on Dec. 16 ― the day of the shooting ― police attempted to pull a car over and "three individuals exited the suspect vehicle and ran in different directions."

"Early information from the scene indicates officers pursued one of the males down a side street," the release from TBI said. "One officer and the subject exchanged gunfire, resulting in the death of the individual."

Law enforcement later identified that individual as McKenzie. He was visiting extended family in Memphis from his home in Atlanta, his mother told The Commercial Appeal.

McKenzie-Smith, who also lives in Atlanta, drove to Memphis for the protest Saturday, hoping the disruption would help her get closer to finding out what exactly led to her son's death.

"I do [think our message is getting out]," she said. "I think the protest was very disruptive — and I enjoyed it — because what we need is attention. So it did its job. Whether or not people knew what was going on or not, they're going to go Google [Jaylin McKenzie] now because they saw his name."

In the six months since her son's death, McKenzie-Smith's attorney, managing director of the Chicago-based civil rights law firm Action Injury Law Group Andrew M. Stroth, said there has been no communication as to what happened to her son.

Stroth accused MPD of "hiding behind the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation" and said they had also recently sent a letter to the mayor asking for video of the shooting to be released.

"There's been no accountability. We don't know the officer's name. We don't know any of the facts surrounding the case. The only thing the family knows is the narrative that's been given by the police. And if you look at George Floyd in Minnesota...you look at Tyre Nichols here in Memphis, and the SCORPION Unit, you can't believe what people say. We need to see the objective video evidence and the family has not received anything [as of] today," Stroth said.

After the shooting in December, MPD said McKenzie shot at officers, who then returned fire and shot McKenzie. He died at the scene, police said. However, McKenzie-Smith said she has been told no gun was recovered from the scene. MPD and TBI did not comment on whether or not a gun was recovered at the scene.

Law enforcement officials have not announced any charges against any other passengers of the car McKenzie was in before the traffic stop.

Stroth said the narrative released publicly has left him and the family with no answers, and he said the release of body camera footage, especially in the wake of Tyre Nichols' beating at the hands of MPD officers, should be standard practice.

"If the narrative tweeted out by the police department says they were responding to shots fired at police, where's the weapon? Where are the gun casings? Where's the objective evidence that supports that narrative? There's no objective evidence that supports that it was a justified shooting," he said. "If there's no weapon, there's no imminent threat."

MPD deferred to TBI for comment about the shooting and said it would check if the officers had been suspended from duty on Monday. TBI did not respond to the same questions, along with one asking about the status of the TBI investigation, at the time this article was published.

Protests lead to celebration of Jaylin McKenzie at American Way Park

McKenzie was shot and killed near the destination for the protesters, American Way Park. As cars pulled into the parking lot, some adorned with red streamers and flags, smoke from grills filled the air. Music from a drum line and separate speakers began playing as well.

Alongside the food and music, yoga mats were lined up alongside a booth selling jewelry and crystals, two things McKenzie-Smith said her son enjoyed.

"I wanted Jaylin's rally to talk about who he was," she said. "So that's why we have the yoga and the meditation, he was into all of that with crystals and sage, and stuff. You'll see there's vegan food out here because he'd go on these fasts where he wouldn't eat meat, he'd just do fruits and vegetables. There's also, of course, music. He was an aspiring rapper. All of those things are things that he did, and that's what this rally is all about."

McKenzie-Smith said it was difficult when she first arrived, but hearing the music, seeing the food and yoga lifted her spirits.

"When I first got out here it was a little hard. But now that people are here, and it's music going on, it's a little lighter," she said. "Because my son wouldn't want you to be mad or sad. He would want you to enjoy yourself and celebrate."

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Mother, family, friends protest killing of 20-year-old by Memphis police