NEW ORLEANS — Back in October, Uptown residents were facing a string of burglaries — until the morning of Oct. 10, when officers shot the suspect and caught him. Friday, NOPD released body-worn camera footage and we were able to get a clearer picture of what happened.
According to NOPD, it all started early in the morning when they got a call about a burglary on State Street. That's where the footage begins. They say that's where 63-year-old Dwayne Brown stole at least four guns from a home.
NOPD says they tried to catch him but he ran away.
"It's a burglary where people are inside their home. This is like a home invasion," NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.
Then, they found him not far on Perrier Street, where NOPD says he hid under a home. NOPD says they tased him, but it seemingly didn't affect him as he ran away again. Then, they caught up to Brown on the 6000 block of Prytania. An officer catches up to him, grabs him from behind, and tells him to get down.
Instead of following orders, Brown starts fighting the officer. Brown hits the officer and starts pulling things off the officer's belt like his flashlight.
"You're going to see Brown struggling to get the officer's taser, which you know, as far as he knew, was probably trying to grab a gun," Kirkpatrick says. "And so it's at this point Officer Godwin, just amazing, kept his head, performed so professionally, but he actually tries to retreat."
Brown eventually pulls a gun he had on himself and points it at the officer. The officer slowly steps back and moments later Brown empties his five-round revolver towards the officer, but somehow the officer doesn't get injured. The officer fires back at Brown and strikes him in the stomach.
"God's gracious hand, put a shield around this officer because they were literally just feet away," Kirkpatrick said.
Eventually, they find Brown on a nearby porch and get him medical help. Kirkpatrick says they followed protocol and found the officer was justified in shooting Brown. The officer has since returned to full duty.
Brown is facing several charges: 1 count of attempted first-degree murder, 10 counts of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling / attempted simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling / simple burglary, and Four counts of theft of a motor vehicle. Two counts of possession of a firearm by a person convicted of certain felonies, and One count of simple criminal damage to property.
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