Louisiana cop arrested for fatally shooting unarmed black man as he ran

A white Louisiana police officer has been arrested for capturing and killing an unarmed black man who was making an attempt to run away throughout a home name, authorities mentioned.

After reviewing footage from officers’ physique cameras, state troopers charged Shreveport officer Alexander Tyler, 23, with negligent murder within the Feb. 3 dying of 43-year-old Alonzo Bagley.

Tyler’s arrest got here the identical day Louisiana State Police launched graphic physique digicam video of the capturing together with audio from the 911 recording reporting the home disturbance.

Two officers responded to the disturbance round 10:50 p.m. Feb. 3 on the Villa Norte Residences in Shreveport. Within the 911 name, an individual who recognized herself as Bagley’s spouse mentioned her husband was “loaded on one thing” and threatening her and her daughter after coming residence “raged and performing the idiot.”

Tyler and one other unidentified officer arrived on the condo, the place Bagley opened the door holding a glass bottle with brown liquid.

Bagley mentioned he needed to put away his canine, walked to the again of the condo onto a balcony, jumped to the bottom exterior and fled. The officers gave chase.

Col. Lamar Davis, the superintendent of Louisiana State Police, beforehand mentioned that as Tyler rounded the nook of the constructing, he noticed Bagley and fired a single shot, which struck the person within the chest.

Within the newly launched footage, Bagley will be heard groaning, “Oh God, you shot me,” as he slumps to the bottom together with his arms raised and bleeding profusely.

The officers instantly begin administering first support, with an audibly distressed Tyler repeating the phrases: “No, no, no, no no, man, no.”

Tyler is then heard sobbing as his colleague, who takes cost of the life-saving measures, tries to reassure him, saying: “You’re good.”

“No, man! Come on, dude! Stick with me, stick with me, man!” Tyler exclaims whereas placing strain on Bagley’s wound to attempt to cease the bleeding.

The opposite officer later instructs Tyler to run to the entrance of the constructing and wave down the responding paramedics together with his flashlight.

The cop continues tending to Bagley, however it’s clear from the recording that he’s changing into more and more frantic in view of Bagley’s deteriorating situation.

“Hey, take a look at me! Take a look at me! Take a look at me!” the officer screams. “Get up! Get up! Take a look at me! … Hey, reply! Come on!”

After the capturing, Tyler made “a number of statements claiming the suspect got here towards him and he couldn’t see his fingers,” in response to court docket paperwork by state police. Investigators didn’t discover any weapons in Bagley’s possession.

Following his arrest, Tyler was launched on $25,000 bond pending his arraignment set for April 3.

His lawyer, J. Dhu Thompson, spoke to station KSLA exterior the Caddo Parish Courthouse earlier than Tyler was formally charged.

“These are split-second selections that officers should make,” Thompson mentioned. “You and I benefit from hindsight, we are able to sit down in a cushty room with a cup of espresso and evaluation this video.

“That’s not the place that Officer Tyler was in, or every other officer that places his life on the road on a day-to-day foundation and encounters these kind of conditions.”

Tyler, who has been on the police drive since Could 2021, is on paid administrative go away, Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith mentioned Thursday. Smith mentioned that to his information, Tyler had been concerned in a single coverage violation during which there was “violence to a suspect,” however didn’t elaborate additional.

If convicted of negligent murder, Tyler might resist 5 years in jail.

Bagley’s relations have filed a $10 million lawsuit in opposition to Tyler, accusing him of violating the sufferer’s constitutional rights.

“The deadly drive used in opposition to Mr. Bagley was unjustified, unreasonable, extreme, and in violation of Mr. Bagley’s rights below america Structure and the legal guidelines of the State of Louisiana,” the lawsuit mentioned, which was filed by Bagley’s spouse, mom and stepdaughter.

The household has employed Louisiana lawyer Ronald Haley, who has represented different high-profile shoppers, together with the household of a black motorist who died in 2019 in state police custody.  

Throughout a Thursday afternoon press convention with a few of Bagley’s relations, Haley mentioned the truth that Bagley fled from police shouldn’t equate to a “dying sentence.”

“Flight doesn’t imply shoot to kill,” Haley mentioned. “Flight doesn’t imply you’re the decide, jury and executioner, and that’s what occurred. That what has occurred on this case … and it’s an incident that we see far too typically within the state. It’s an incident that we see far too typically round this nation.”

In the course of the information convention, Bagley’s brother, Xavier Sudds, mentioned he hopes his sibling’s dying “means one thing.”

“I admire all people’s condolences and prayers however none of that compares to the ache that I’m feeling, the ache that my mother is feeling. … That’s going to linger for some time, for a very long time,” Sudds mentioned.