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Family of Jevon Descheenie marches to Navajo Nation offices for answers

By Stephanie Muñiz

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    WINDOW ROCK, Arizona (KOAT) — In October 2021, Jevon Descheenie was arrested by Navajo Nation Police. Hours later, he disappeared from police custody.

He was found two weeks later dead in a canal.

Since then, his family has been advocating for him, searching for answers as to why he was left unsupervised and which officer is responsible.

His older sister Shanna Nez said, “The court documents say he is under John Doe as a plaintiff, but we know who the arresting officer is.”

The family walked to the Navajo Nation President’s office on Friday looking to talk to President Jonathan Nez.

“Most of the time, we get ‘this is an open case and we can’t really discuss anything.’ So that’s all we get,” said Shanna Nez.

Shanna says there’s only so much they know about what happened that night.

“We know he was – he was handcuffed behind his back. We know he was driven back up to the substation. We know that he was set aside so the police officer can take care of his unit,” Shanna Nez said.

The family has filed a lawsuit against the Navajo Nation Police Department. Since then, the Navajo Nation has appealed to dismiss the case, prompting more outcry from the family.

“He can’t cry out for justice, you know, that’s why we’re here. For him to give it. To make it aware. To make everybody aware that we’re here to make that justice be known,” said Shanna Nez.

She said she wants every family going through something like this not to give up.

“Don’t think that, you know, just because one person said no or you can’t get any answers, keep going,” Shanna Nez said.

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