Protesters descend on home of school president
SAN JOSE >> A day after protesters marched to the home of San Jose State President Mary Papazian alleging a cover-up of the 2008 death of a Black student, the university said Monday that while there is no new evidence that would warrant reopening the case, the coroner’s report is being reviewed by the county medical examiner.
The death of Gregory Johnson Jr., who was found hanging in the basement of his Sigma Chi fraternity house in downtown San Jose, was ruled a suicide at the time. His mother, Denise Johnson, believes her son was the victim of a hate crime and has called for the case to be reopened.
“His death in 2008 was a tragic loss of life,” the statement from SJSU said Monday. “No evidence of foul play was found in the investigation which was subsequently reviewed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
The initial investigation was conducted by the San Jose State University Police Department. “If there is any new evidence,” the statement said, “SJSU asks the community to bring it forward so an independent review can take place.”
In the meantime, Santa Clara County Medical Examiner Michelle Jorden will review the original coroner’s report. The county District Attorney’s office is not directly involved in that review, according to spokesman Sean Webby, who added that if new information comes forward the office will re-evaluate.
On Sunday evening, protesters faced off with San Jose Police officers near Papazian’s home in San Jose’s Rose Garden neighborhood. After shouting at police officers and chanting “no justice, no peace,” the protest ended peacefully around 8:30 p.m.. It wasn’t clear whether Papazian was at her home in San Jose’s Rose Garden neighborhood at the time.
San Jose Police said they were following local laws requiring protesters to remain at least 300 feet from her residence. Dozens of police officers positioned themselves at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden a block away, where the protesters began their march, as well as several other neighborhood streets.
In October, 300 protesters gathered in downtown San Jose in front of the Sigma Chi fraternity, demanding it be shut down.
Several organizations that were involved in the George Floyd protests last summer, including HERO Tent and BLACK Outreach S.J., helped organize the protest near Papazian’s home. They said they were particularly upset that Papazian didn’t join a virtual meeting of San Jose State’s Associated Students Board of Directors in February to address the case.
“She won’t even bother to get on a Zoom call with us,” said Jesi Faust, a member of HERO Tent that is part of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“That’s why everyone is angry,” said Thomas Christian, a San Jose state student who attended the protest.
In the SJSU statement Monday, however, the university said that organizers and attendees at the march “misstated the facts” about her attendance at the meeting. Papazian had been invited to the meeting, the statement said, but believed it was to give a 15-minute presentation about the state of the university. She was unaware of the agenda item about Johnson’s death and “Addressing Anti-Blackness and Systemic Racism.” Adding to the confusion, the statement said, was that the Zoom link she was sent was for a future meeting. By the time she finally connected to the Feb. 18 meeting, she had five minutes left before another scheduled appointment, the statement said, and Papazian asked to return at another time.
In a separate statement to the campus community dated Feb. 18, Papazian said the university “has worked hard to learn as much as we can about the circumstances of Gregory’s death and the subsequent investigation” that included the campus police interviewing 30 witnesses.
“President Papazian is committed to our students’ — and campus community’s — ongoing efforts and initiatives to address systemic racism,” Monday’s statement said, “and looks forward to future opportunities to engage in this crucial conversation.”
The death of Gregory Johnson Jr.,whowas found hanging in the basement ofhisSigmaChi fraternity house in downtown San Jose, was ruled a suicide at the time. His mother, Denise Johnson, believes her son was the victim ofahatecrime and has called for the case to be reopened.