HARVEY, La. – A clearly shaken and solemn Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand lamented the fatal shooting of Detective David F. Michel Jr. Wednesday as a cold-blooded killing of a tremendously well-liked officer.
Normand, who can be outspoken and animated when talking about crime, at times had trouble getting out the words at the nighttime press briefing.
“Officer Michel, I wish I had 1,000 of him,” he said, before pausing for at least 10 seconds. “He was a great officer, and the reason I know that is that he used to do this for free. He was in the reserve division for a long time.”
Normand said Michel’s family – including a wife who is a JPSO employee, and a father and stepmother – were “overwhelmed” by the show of support in the community.
Normand said Michel called his father daily, either before starting or after ending a shift to tell him that he was okay. “I can sense in his dad’s voice that he’s going to miss that call every day.”
Normand identified the shooting suspect as 19-year-old Jerman Neveaux of New Orleans.
Normand said Michel was on patrol near the Pebble Walk subdivision when he noticed Neveaux following another man in a suspicious manner. Michel intervened and grabbed Neveaux, placing him on the patrol car with the intention to search him. Normand said when that happened, Neveaux flipped around and went “chest to chest” with Officer Michel, eventually firing over his shoulder and striking Michel in the back. At that time, Michel went to the ground and Neveaux fired two more shots, both of which also struck Michel in the back.
An eventual conversation with the man who was followed, and his girlfriend, who had been on the phone with him at the time, confirmed that the man was nervous as Neveaux followed him, according to Normand.
Neveaux fled the area and Michel was able to call in that he had been shot. Emergency vehicles flocked to the area and tried to save Michel. He was rushed to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Officers searched for Neveaux and found him near the 1500 block of London Cross Road, before being apprehended. Normand said Neveaux had a .38 caliber gun on him when he was taken into custody.
Normand said Neveaux confessed to the crime. He said Neveaux doesn’t have much of a record but was on probation and told officers that he shot Officer Michel because he didn’t want to go to jail for possession of a weapon.
A video of the officers apprehending Neveaux has been obtained, according to Normand, who added that the video has been shared with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“The video shows Neveaux being struck by our officers while attempting to gain control of Neveaux, who was still armed by the way,” said Normand. “We will look in to that happenstance. We will reach out to the folks who shot that video. I appreciate the fact that they’ve brought it forward and that the media has shared it with our office.”
Normand said funeral arrangements for Michel would be made public when they are finalized.