NEW ORLEANS — Newly released bodycam video shows a man threatening an NOPD officer with a knife before the officer shoots him in the arm.
According to New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, officers were sent to the Superdome on Nov. 15 to remove an armed man who was trespassing near one of the ticket stands.
The video captures the moments when officers Romero Noel and Marshall Scallan approach the suspect, Jimmy Deason.
The video is shot from Officer Noel's body camera. In that video you can Deason pull out a knife. Noel pulls out his handgun in response, telling Deason to drop the knife multiple times before shooting him in the arm.
While on the ground, Deason tells officers to "let (him) die," and that he "wants to be alone."
"We don't know if this is a suicide-by-cop situation, but it definitely can appear to be so by his statements," Ferguson said.
The video ends after the officers call for an ambulance.
According to Ferguson, Deason was taken to University Medical Center and treated for his gunshot wound before being released to the Orleans Justice Center. He has been charged with five counts of aggravated assault as well as trespassing.
Officer Noel was reassigned pending the investigation into the shooting. Chief Ferguson says he expects him back on his normal patrol duties soon.
Our partners at NOLA.com are reporting that 62-year-old Jimmy Earl Deason has a lengthy crime history beyond Tuesday's incident.
In 1990, Deason fatally shot his wife and two young children. He claimed to have a brain disorder, and took lithium and tranquilizer and didn't sleep for a week before the killings.
"I intended to shoot them all, sir,″ he told the judge at his sentencing. "I have a situation where my heart has died inside.”
Deason was sentenced to 40 years in prison, but was released after serving 21 years in 2012.
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