CNN
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A Shreveport, Louisiana, police officer was arrested Thursday on a charge of negligent homicide in the fatal shooting earlier this month of Alonzo Bagley, an unarmed Black man, Louisiana State Police said.
Officer Alexander Tyler made his initial appearance in court, where a Louisiana State Police investigator told the judge that body camera footage shows that Bagley’s hands were up in the split second after the shot is fired. Investigators said no weapon was found on Bagley.
The officer acknowledged in court that the view from the body camera is obstructed by the way the officer is turned the moment the shot is fired.
Before the arrest, Tyler declined to comment to CNN about the incident and referred all questions to his attorney Dhu Thompson. CNN has reached out to the attorney.
Bagley’s family was shown the police video of the shooting Thursday morning, according to one of their attorneys.
Xavier Sudds, brother Bagley’s brother, told CNN what he saw on the police video less than an hour after watching it for the first time.
Sudds said his brother’s “hands were up” at the time of the shooting – though it is difficult tell from the video released Thursday – and that Bagley said, “Oh god, you shot me.”
“He was he was not threatening in any kind of way,” Sudds said of his brother.
Bagley, 43, was killed February 3 after officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex, according to police. When police arrived, Bagley jumped down from an apartment balcony and fled, and after a brief foot chase one officer fatally shot Bagley – who was later found to be unarmed, state police said.
The State Police investigator told the court Thursday that Tyler had his weapon out during the chase, while the other officer holstered his weapon when Bagley jumped from the balcony.
On Thursday afternoon, Ronald Haley, an attorney for the family, held a news conference with community activists and Bagley family members. Haley praised the rapid arrest of the officer and the release of the video.
Haley said Tyler had 66 seconds after Bagley fled to take non-lethal action.
“A short flight takes place but flight is not a death sentence,” Haley said. “Flight does not mean shoot to kill. Flight does not mean judge, jury and executioner and that’s what happened here.”
Sudds told reporters, “I want Alonzo’s death to mean something at the end of the day. And I know that it will happen and I appreciate everybody’s condolences and prayers but none of that compares to the pain that I’m feeling, the pain that my mom is feeling… That’s going to linger for a while, for a long time.”
After the shooting, Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said his “heart bled” and the department will “do our very best to make sure that it doesn’t occur again.” He urged the community to “remain patient.”
Bagley’s shooting death occurred about a month after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, by Memphis officers during a traffic stop that reignited a national conversation about police use of force against people of color, particularly Black Americans.
Bagley had previously sued the police department, alleging excessive force, according to a lawsuit obtained by CNN.
Tyler, on the force since May 2021, was on paid administrative leave as state police investigated the incident, which included reviewing the officer’s body worn camera.
His arrest was based on the findings of the investigators and coordinated with the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office, according to a police statement.
Tyler’s bond was set at $25,000; his next court date is April 3.
Documents show Bagley had a previous run-in with Shreveport police, years before he was killed.
Twelve months after Shreveport police allegedly assaulted Bagley during an arrest in January 2018, he filed a federal lawsuit against the department.
Bagley required “treatment of a broken occipital orbital eye-socket bones, contusions to the head and face, and a number of his front upper teeth knocked out,” the suit says.
During the 2018 incident, officers responded to a domestic dispute between Alonzo and his wife, the complaint states.
Bagley was put into handcuffs that “were placed too tightly” on him and he “maneuvered his hands to the front of his body due to the pain and discomfort of being handcuffed behind his back in the back passenger portion of an SPD (Shreveport Police Department) patrol car,” the suit said.
According to the court filing, Bagley “was not attempting and did not attempt to escape but only rearranged himself out of the painful position he was in.”
One police officer then opened the door and “delivered forceful and several close-fisted strikes to the head and face” and a second officer did not stop the assault, the suit says. Bagley was handcuffed the entire time and offered no resistance, the lawsuit says.
In response to the complaint, the city said that one of its officers did open the door of the patrol car, but was assisting Bagley because he was “attempting to strangle or choke himself with the seatbelt.”
The city went on to say the officer did strike Bagley’s “head and facial area when Plaintiff (Bagley) covered his head with his arms and prevented Officer Kolb from removing the seatbelt and removing Plaintiff from the vehicle.”
It is unclear what the resolution was on the lawsuit.
An attorney who represented Bagley in the case did not return calls from CNN seeking comment.
Bagley was charged with domestic abuse battery and resisting an officer related to the incident. The domestic abuse charge was dismissed, and he pleaded guilty in February 2018 to the charge of resisting an officer, according to court records.
CNN has requested comment from the police department, and filed an open records request with the city to find out more about the 2018 incident.
Tyler was not with the department when the 2018 incident occurred.
Bagley’s family has sued Tyler, seeking more than $10 million in damages, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. The lawsuit alleges that the office violated Alonzo Bagley’s Fourth Amendment rights.
Louisiana State Police says the case is still under investigation.
Sumber: www.cnn.com
