Fatal Encounters record · Independent third-party dataset
DeFarra "Dean" Gaymon
July 16, 2010 · Newark, Essex County
Details as recorded
Every value below is shown exactly as Fatal Encounters recorded it.[1]
- Name as recorded
- DeFarra "Dean" Gaymon
- Age as recorded
- 48
- Gender as recorded
- Male
- Race as reported
- African-American/Black
- Date of the injury resulting in death
- July 16, 2010
- Location as recorded
- Newark, Essex County115 Clifton Ave Newark NJ 07104 Essex
- Highest level of force as recorded
- Gunshot
Where the dataset places it
The marked point is the dataset's own geocoded location for this record, as recorded. Every other New Jersey record in the dataset is shown in gray. A point on a map is where a death was recorded, not a finding about anyone.
Agencies as recorded
Agency or agencies involved, as recorded: Essex County Sheriff's Office
An agency appears here because it appears in the record's as-reported agency field, nothing more. Its presence is not a claim of fault or responsibility.
Department pages (matched by this site at high confidence)
The source's account
Fatal Encounters' description of the incident, verbatim. This is the source project's own third-party narrative, not this site's reporting.
Officer Esposito came across Mr. Gaymon, who was engaged in a sexual act, in Newark Park. When Officer Esposito tried to arrest him, "Mr. Gaymon appeared to panic, assaulted the police officer and fled." Officer Esposito cornered him near a pond. Mr. Gaymon threatened to kill Officer Esposito, then lunged at and attempted to disarm him while reaching into his own pocket. Officer Esposito fired once.
Source reported by Fatal Encounters: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/nyregion/no-charges-for-officer-who-shot-defarra-gaymon-at-branch-brook-park.html?_r=0 (external link, as recorded in the dataset).
If you are a family member of the person named here, or represent one, and something in this record is wrong, or you want the record removed, requests go through the corrections page. Every request is checked against the source record.
This is one of 29 New Jersey records the dataset dates to 2010, and one of 118 it holds for Essex County across 2000 to 2021. Browse every New Jersey Fatal Encounters record by year.
Records from the same county and year
- Dawud Culver (2010) December 20, 2010
- James Callaway Sr. (2010) December 18, 2010
- Rajon Chambers (2010) November 6, 2010
Questions and answers
What does the Fatal Encounters dataset record about this incident?
Fatal Encounters records that DeFarra "Dean" Gaymon died on July 16, 2010 in Newark, Essex County, with "Gunshot" as the highest level of force. Fatal Encounters is an independent, crowdsourced dataset of deaths that occurred during police encounters of any kind; a record is not a finding of fault or misconduct.
Which agency or agencies were recorded as involved?
The record's agency field reads "Essex County Sheriff's Office". Presence in that field means the agency appears in the record as reported, nothing more; it is not a claim of fault or responsibility by any officer or agency.
Where did this happen?
The record places the death in Newark, Essex County, on July 16, 2010. The address as recorded is 115 Clifton Ave Newark NJ 07104 Essex.
Sources
- [1]Fatal Encounters, New Jersey subset. Fatal Encounters (fatalencounters.org). Row 19741. Derived from the public Fatal Encounters national dataset (coverage 2000-2021; collection ended December 2021), https://fatalencounters.org/. Retrieved July 10, 2026. ↩