Inside the Fort Pierce home of Cleo and Elijah Smith is a door decorated with football players and Bible verses.
Two ties hang on the doorknob. The young man who once lived here is gone.
“I would like to know why? Why?" asks Cleo Smith.
The Smiths’ grandson, Demarcus Semer, was killed by police in April.
“We’re kind of puzzled that we don’t know what went on. We need answers. We’re not getting answers," said Elijah Smith, saying they have yet to even see their grandson's autopsy report. A regular churchgoer, with no criminal history, Semer was shot after a traffic stop.
“He was the type of person who wanted to do what was right, when it was right," said Cleo Smith who remembered how he was the glue in the middle of their regular family meetings.
Investigators say Semer had run over one officer, with a second trapped while hanging out of his car. He was eventually shot as he fled into a backyard.
“He didn’t get a chance to finish his dream. That really hurts," said Semer's mother LaTrecia Middleton as she looked at a number of his athletic awards.
“We need closure, we need closure. I need people to know we haven’t gotten any closure yet," said Middleton.
Closure for many generations, including Semer’s two-year-old niece who all miss a face that was forever smiling.
“He was a good kid and should not be where he’s at," said Elijah Smith.
The State Attorney’s Office expects the grand jury to finish its case by the end of this month.
