The fatal shooting of a 31-year-old Black man by police in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Friday night has sparked a city probe.
The Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations announced in a press release Saturday that it is investigating the murder of Trayford Pellerin on Friday night.
The incident in Lafayette, a town about 56 miles west of Baton Rouge, happened after police responded to a disturbance report around 8 p.m. “in which a person was armed with a knife in a convenience store,” the Bureau of Investigation said. the state police in the issue.
Upon arrival, officers found Pellerin in the parking lot of the convenience store.
When officers “attempted to arrest Pellerin, he fled the scene and was followed up,” the release said. “Officers deployed Tasers when they pursued Pellerin, but they were ineffective.”
Pellerin tried to enter another convenience store at a gas station while “still armed with a knife,” the release said. “Officers fired their weapons and he was beaten by gunfire.”
Pellerin was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Part of the police chase and the shooting was captured on video by a woman who witnessed the incident while sitting in a car at the gas station.
The video, which was posted on social media, shows a Black man wearing a white T-shirt with long pants being chased by police.
“We have to witness this,” the woman who recorded the video is heard saying to another person with her in the car. “That man has a knife. They’ll shoot him,” the woman says as she continues filming.
“They’re traversing him,” the woman says, when at least four officers are seen walking around the man for the convenience of the gas station. “He doesn’t even do anything,” Shortly afterwards, a fleet of gunshots can be heard.
“Oh my God, they just shot this man. They literally just killed this man for me,” the woman says.
Lafayette’s interim police officer, Scott Morgan, said at a joint news conference with state police that his department could not comment on specifications about the incident, according to KLAF, an NBC branch in Lafayette.
Morgan said his department handed the case over to state police to conduct an independent investigation into the shooting.
He also said he did not have the exact number of officers at the time of the incident.
The officers involved will be placed on administrative leave with pay pending the conclusion of the investigation, the acting police officer said, according to The Acadiana Advocate.
Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump responded to the news on Twitter, saying of Pellerin, “He apparently had a knife and ran away from police, but did not deserve to die – they acted as jury and judge. We demand JUSTICE and ANSWERS. #BlackLivesMatter. “
The local NAACP was planning a call to action rally at the scene of the shooting Saturday night.
Jay Varela and Gabriel Samandi contributed.
