Former New Haven Blazers director Socrates Joseph collects donations for the Reeves family.
In the wake of the shooting death of his son, Sean Reeves Sr. said he was “overwhelmed” by the support he received from a source especially close to his son’s heart: his former coaches from the New Haven Blazers, a basketball club in the Amateur Athletic Union.
“Sean’s been playing basketball with these guys since he was 7 years old,” Reeves Sr. said. “This isn’t just about basketball; it’s like a family.”
“Family” was the word used by several Blazers coaches and parents to describe their relationship with Sean Reeves Jr., who was 16 when he was shot and killed Wednesday night in a brawl at the corner of George and Day Streets. New Haven police have arrested two men in connection with Sean’s death.
Sean’s friends, family friends and those who simply wanted to show their support for the family gathered Saturday night at Boku, a bar and nightclub by the West Haven Green, for a fundraiser for the Reeves family organized by Blazers coaches.
One of the coaches in attendance was Carlton Staggers (who’s also running for alderman in West Hills). Staggers is now a girls’coach with the Blazers, but he coached Sean for around three years and stayed in touch with the young man after he moved on to play for his high school team (at Hyde Leadership Academy in Hamden). Staggers said Sean’s death “hit home” for both him and his family.
“Sean was almost like a son to me,” Staggers said. “I loved that kid.”
Staggers recalled the last time he saw Sean. It was around two weeks ago, Staggers said, and Sean was working as a counselor at the Connecticut League Basketball Camp. Sean had complained that the kids he was training were unskilled at the game.
“Sean,” Staggers recalled saying, “that was you.”
Staggers said that Sean thought for a moment before responding, “Yeah, you’re right.”
“[Sean] was small in size, but he was a big person at heart,” Staggers said. “He just wanted to be successful in life.”
The coaches planned to pass around an envelope Saturday night giving people the opportunity to contribute as much as they wanted. The money would be given to the Reeves family to cover funeral expenses.
Although Staggers said he had not talked to either of the parents since their son’s death, he was “stepping up as a coach” to provide the support they needed.
Socrates Joseph, a former director of the Blazers, was collecting donations at the door of Boku. He recalled that Sean, who had participated in Blazers activities since the third grade, had excelled in track as well as basketball.
“He was kind of like a son to all of us,” Joseph said. “He’ll really be missed.”
The crowd at the fundraiser Saturday night at Boku.
The crowd gathered slowly after Boku opened at 9; by 11:30 it numbered close to 50. (As many as four West Haven police cars were visible from the entrance to Boku, forming a sort of perimeter around the club.)
Among the many who came to offer their support was Valerie Tanner, whose sons Ivory and Kaymar knew Reeves Jr. from the Blazers. She said that her family was “in disbelief” after Sean’s death.
“My sons are having a hard time,” Tanner said. She added, “Sean comes from good stock. His parents are good parents.”
“It could have been my son,” Tanner said. “I had to be here.”
Richard Borer said he had not known Sea. He said that he and other coworkers of Sean’s mother Valencia Smith had come to support her. (Borer is also a former mayor of West Haven.)
“It’s just so sad,” Borer said. “The amount of gun violence in America is extremely alarming, and in its wake is shattered lives and sorrow.”
Wayne McCloud said he came because his son once played basketball with Sean. (McCloud, too, is running for alderman, in Beaver Hills; the Reeves family lives in his ward.)
“We got to get the guns off the streets,” McCloud said. “We got to get help from everybody, even the ones who are doing it.”
Family friend Wendy Bonner suggested that religious leaders come down from the pulpit and go into the streets for hands-on work with troubled people.
“Moses went into the trenches,” she said.
Two mayoral candidates were spotted at the fundraiser: Jeffrey Kerekes and Clifton Graves. Graves said he knows Reeves Sr. and had come to offer his support to the Reeves family.
Kerekes did not know the Reeves family but he said he was “very disturbed” to hear of New Haven’s 21st homicide of 2011 and wanted to make a donation.
Kerekes said that if elected mayor he would increase policing, especially in neighborhoods with high crime rates, and encourage officers to “know the people who live” in their beats. He would also hire what he called a “full-time” police chief, claiming this would help improve morale on the force.
“It’s a full-time job for a full-time problem,” Kerekes said.
A T-shirt honors Sean Reeves Jr.
Sean’s parents showed up later in the evening, when a sizable crowd had gathered at Boku. Sean Reeves Sr. thanked everybody profusely for their support as well as New Haven police for apprehending suspects so quickly.
“We appreciate all the love,” Reeves said. “We love the fact that our son was loved by many, many people.”