In Hebrew, Matthew means “Gift of God”, and Zadok means “Righteousness.”  Our beloved Zadok was a gift from God and he lived Righteously.  His family demands justice for his senseless, unlawful, and heartless killing at the hands of Dekalb County, Georgia police officer(s) who shot him dead in his own home rendering no medical aid afterwards and leaving him there to die a painful death.  Rest our Righteous angel. 

Our Zadok was the beloved baby brother of five older sisters. He was the son of beautiful parents who prayed continually for a son and kept trying, which resulted in five daughters being born until their son was born in 1985.  Our Zadok was beautiful. He was a home owner. An avid reader. An activist. A humanitarian. A pacifist. He was full of life and love so exuberant that he radiated.  

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Our family cherished every moment with him. Zadok was a son, brother, nephew, uncle, cousin, friend, and a 35-year-old responsible, righteous man who never had the opportunity to grow old and have children of his own.  My family is devastated by this loss. Our lives will never be the same.