Viewers who tune in to watch Netflix’s “Race: Bubba Wallace” will no doubt discover the gifted driver’s exploits in NASCAR and how he grew into his role as an unlikely but necessary voice against racial injustice. But something that also shaped Bubba’s childhood thinking was the death of his cousin, Sean Gillispie, when Bubba was just nine years old. In the documentary series, Bubba, his mother and his sister recount how Sean’s sudden death affected their lives. So if you’re wondering what happened to the young man, we’ve got you covered.
How did Sean Gillispie die?
In the early hours of May 18, 2003, Sean Gillispie was hanging out with a few friends in a convenience store parking lot in Knoxville, Tennessee. According to the show, the 19-year-old had been out at a club before finding himself in the parking lot, playing loud music. The store employee called authorities while complaining about the noise outside, which led to two officers responding to the call.
When officers arrived, the parking lot was filled with many vehicles. This prompted them to walk in and ask the cars to come out one by one. At the time, Sean was in the back seat of a car with Frank Mitchell in the driver’s seat. Frank’s cousin, Derek, had come in the same car but was in another vehicle nearby at the time of the incident. As the sequence of events that followed became a point of contention, it ended with one of the officers shooting Sean in the chest, resulting in his death.
Who Killed Sean Gillispie?
The two officers who responded to the noise complaint were David Ogle and Jason Keck. David later said the car Frank and Sean were sitting in had its windows partially rolled down and was playing loud music. He then went to the side of the vehicle to ask Frank for his license and registration. At this point, David claimed to see a handgun next to Sean in the backseat with his hand resting on it.
David immediately asked Sean to drop the gun and raise his hands. This alerted Jason, who was in the front of the vehicle at the time. Jason ordered Frank to put his hands up and David walked around the car to remove the handgun from Sean’s vicinity. While Jason admitted he didn’t know where the gun was inside the vehicle, he claimed Sean moved his hands and then lifted them, turning towards him with a 9mm. At this point Jason said he feared for his life and as a result he shot Sean in the chest. The teenager then fell from the car, injured. Derek, who rushed over to Sean, later testified that he saw a phone in his friend’s hand.
In May 2004, Sean’s mother, Tanya Gillispie, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Knoxville, alleging negligence. The family maintained that Sean was only trying to reach his phone to make a call. However, the judge ultimately ruled in favor of the city, citing that there was no evidence to refute Jason’s testimony and that his use of deadly force was justified. On the show, Bubba’s mother, Desiree, talked about how the family relives the horror every time a black man is killed by the police, which rang too true given the events that unfolded in 2020.
Read more: Where is Denny Hamlin now?
