AMITE CITY, La. — A Tangipahoa Parish grand jury declined to indict a Hammond police officer after he shot an unarmed man last year during a no-knock warrant, according to WBRZ.
District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said the jury heard testimony from seven witnesses over the course of four hours and decided on a "no true bill" in the Dunn, our partners reported.
Dunn was accused of firing his gun and shooting Lionell Jackson, inside of his home on Jul. 15 last year.
"Body camera video obtained by the WBRZ Investigative Unit showed narcotics [and] officers going down a hallway in Lionell Jackson's home last July 15. Dunn fired his weapon as the officers reached Jackson's bedroom, shooting Jackson in the neck and hospitalizing him," our partners reported.
The jury returned the no true bill, which means they decided not to charge or indict Dunn, the DA said.
Dunn said "I felt my life was threatened, and I needed to protect the guys behind me," when he shot Jackson.
Video shows that officers forced their way inside Jackson's home.
Body cam footage obtained by our partners showed that Dunn did not have his body camera on. It led to more questions about why Jackson, who was "allegedly in his bed during the raid", was shot.
Dunn told investigators that he and other officers announced that they were police. He said they gave several commands before they proceeded further into Jackson's home.
Our partners said Dunn saw Jackson running from the bathroom to his bedroom after the officers gave him commands to stop. He said Jackson did not comply and they then saw Jackson when he entered the hallway.
Dunn explained that the lights were off and he could not see into the room, "he makes a motion to come at me with something in his right hand," WBRZ reported. Dunn said he thought what turned out to be Jackson's cell phone was a gun.
However, footage also shows officers continuing to search the area, when they said they heard pills "rattling in the plumbing pipes." Officers found a bag in the bathtub and more pills in the toilet.
Jackson was charged with possession with intent to distribute Schedule II drugs, tampering with evidence, five counts of possession of legend drugs and one count of possession of a firearm while in the presence of drugs.
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