Dijon Kizzee biography: 13 things about Los Angeles, California native

Dijon Durand Kizzee was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, United States. He passed away at 3:16 p.m. on August 31, 2020.

That day, Kizzee was riding a bicycle near West 109th Place and South Budlong Avenue in Westmont, Los Angeles when he dropped his bicycle and ran away after seeing a Los Angeles County Sheriff Department‘s cruiser making a U-turn and heading toward him. Two deputies tried to stop Kizzee for riding his bicycle on the wrong side of the road and splitting traffic.

The deputies caught up with Kizzee a few blocks away. There, he allegedly punched one of them in the face.

“After he punched the deputy, he dropped a jacket at which time a black semi-automatic handgun fell to the ground,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “The suspect made a motion toward the firearm, it was at that time a deputy-involved shooting occurred.”

Dressed in a white tank-top and pants, Kizzee was shot multiple times by the two deputies. Edwin Kizzee, the Los Angeles native’s father, accused the deputies of using excessive force against Dijon.

In February 2021, Dijon’s family filed a claim against Los Angeles County for $35 million. On September 15, 2021, the family filed a lawsuit against the two deputies and Los Angeles County, alleging civil rights violations, assault and battery, false imprisonment and negligence.

On June 5, 2023, Edwin’s attorneys filed court papers notifying Compton Superior Court Judge Fumiko Wasserman that a conditional accord was reached, indicating that the lawsuit Dijon’s family filed on September 15, 2021 was tentatively settled. Here are 13 more things about Dijon:

1. His uncle Aaron “Pro” Clark is a hip-hop artist.
2. As a young boy, he loved building go-karts.
3. He loved riding bicycles, mini motorcycles and anything with wheels, his uncle Anthony Johnson of Palmdale, California told the Los Angeles Times. His grandmother Etta Clark of Lancaster, California also told the publication that he was “always very kind, always a loving child” and “very respectful” to her.
4. “He was never a bad person,” his aunt Fletcher Fair told USA Today.
5. He was in a relationship with Jonetta Ewing.
6. He received his high school diploma in the Los Angeles County jail system.
7. From Los Angeles, he moved to Lancaster.
8. His father regularly communicated with him while his father was incarcerated.
9. He took care of his sick mother before she died due to health issues in 2011.
10. He was convicted for various crimes in Los Angeles and Kern County, California. Between 2016 and 2019, he served served two terms in state prison totaling more than a year. Among the charges he faced included evading or attempting to evade a peace officer while driving recklessly and possession of a firearm by a felon or addict.
11. He was a plumber but he was unemployed when the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic started in March 2020.
12. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies who shot him on August 31, 2020 are Christian Morales and Michael Garcia.
13. The autopsy conducted on September 2, 2020 indicated that he was shot 16 times. His death was ruled to be a homicide. He died at age 29.