State officials in Louisiana on Saturday launched an investigation into the death of Trayford Pellerin, a 31-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by Lafayette police officers.
Louisiana State Police said in a statement that a preliminary investigation revealed that Lafayette officers first encountered Pellerin after responding to a report that someone was armed with a knife at a convenience store. Those officials tried to arrest Pellerin after he found him in the parking lot of the convenience store, causing Pellerin to flee, state police said.
A prosecution ensued, according to state police, and local officers “deployed Tasers when they pursued Pellerin, but they were ineffective.”
Local officers fired their firearms as Pellerin attempted to enter the convenience store, and Pellerin was struck by the gun before being taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, state police said.
The Louisiana State Police did not provide any further details about the incident, noting that his probe remained “active”.
Video taken by a bystander showed at least six officers kicking Pellerin as he walked to a gas station. Several shots were heard slipping away as Pellerin approached the convenience store and he fell to the sidewalk. Police fired 11 cannon shots, according to The Daily Advertiser.
The police shooting comes just months after protests swept across the nation following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis official nodded his neck for about 9 minutes.
The Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called for an “independent investigation into what was clearly an unfavorable and excessive use of force by these officers” in Pellerin’s death.
“While we need to know much more about what happened last night, we do know that it started with a routine ‘disruption’ call and phone video of the scene clearly shows that Mr Pellerin left – not direction – policemen, only to be tased and then brutally shot dead, ‘said ACLU Louisiana Executive Director Alanah Odoms Hebert.
Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump – who represented the families of Floyd and Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was fatally shot by Louisville police in her apartment – said in a statement Saturday that he was being held by the Pellerin family .
‘The family, and the people of Lafayette, deserve the honesty and responsibility of those who swear to protect them. The officers involved should be fired immediately, “he said.
We stand with the family of Treyford Pellerin, who was shot dead by yesterday @LafayettePD_LA. We demand justice and transparency! #JusticeForTrey https://t.co/O8L5msnWTl pic.twitter.com/xkLf3yPhL1
– Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) August 22, 2020
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