NEW ORLEANS — Body cam footage of officers investigating a parking violation that ended with one officer shooting a man in the leg has left Supt. Shaun Ferguson searching for more answers — and also has him concerned about how the investigation unfolded.
Officer Isaiah Shannon and his partner, Officer Markus Caldwell, walked up to a car parked the wrong way in the 4300 block of Werner Drive in the Plum Orchard neighborhood of New Orleans East about 9:30 a.m. March 10.
Within seconds, the officers ordered the man to get out of the car since the officers suspected the men were smoking marijuana. Shannon was already holding his department-issued gun behind his back when he walked up to the passenger side of the car.
Ferguson said that is not what officers are trained to do in many instances.
Anthony Cowart, 29, the passenger, tried to run from Shannon. The bodycam video, which NOPD officials showed to media on Friday morning, shows a seconds-long chase and struggle that ended with Shannon shooting Cowart in the right leg.
Shannon was fired from the NOPD in 2014 after he lied about shooting at an unarmed man who was running away. He won his job back in 2017 after an appeal.
In an unusual move, prosecutors asked a magistrate commissioner to find that the officers had no probable cause to arrest Cowart. The commissioner granted that request and ordered Cowart released from jail on the charges that stemmed from his encounter with police.
The driver at the scene hopped back into the car and sped away. Ferguson said police would like to speak to him for their investigation. He said the man, whose identity is not known, is not a suspect.
Shannon remains on desk duty. He has not spoken to police.
Stay with WWL-TV for more on this developing story.