NEW ORLEANS — No charges will be brought in the death of Eric Nelson, a 28-year-old man who died in police custody in December 2021.
Warren Montgomery, the District Attorney for the 22nd District, announced on Friday that there isn't sufficient evidence to bring about charges against law enforcement personnel.
"I reviewed every relative criminal charge to this case and determined that the evidence does not meet the standard needed for criminal prosecution. Based on all the information known to me involving the death of Eric Nelson while in police custody, no criminal charges will be brought at this time against law enforcement personnel involved in the incident on December 19, 2021," Montgomery said in a Friday release.
Nelson was arrested on December 19, 2021 for drug crimes and outstanding warrants. During the arrest, police claim that, while allowing Nelson to return home to change his clothes before going to jail, Nelson ran into the woods and was eventually found and tased by police.
A lawsuit was filed in November 2022 alleging that Nelson's civil rights were violated in the arrest, and that police lied about the incident.
A surveillance video of the Bogalusa police station obtained by NOLA.com in November 2022 showed a plain-clothes man walk up to a police SUV and lean into the vehicle pulling Nelson's legs toward the driver's side rear door.
Nelson eventually limply fell out of the SUV, causing his head to drop and hit the concrete. He is dragged by his arms to the entryway and left there for five minutes before an ambulance arrives.