NEW ORLEANS — The driver who was shot by a JPSO deputy after a parade in Marrero on Monday spoke about the incident from a hospital room in New Orleans, according to Nola.com.
59-year-old Ernest Sam was shot in his shoulder. He and his family said the shooting was "unjustified and unnecessary." Sam told Nola.com, "I kept saying, crying, 'Why did you shoot me? Why did you have to shoot me? I was not a threat.''
The shooting happened near the intersection of Lapalco and Ames Boulevards, soon after the Krewe of Music parade. The sheriff said the deputy was out doing traffic control near the parking lot where Sam, in his SUV, tried to exit over a curb.
Before the shooting, surveillance video shows someone moving a barricade, allowing multiple cars to flow from the same spot. The deputy appears to watch it all happen before eventually trying to stop the SUV.
Sam said that he came to a complete stop as ordered by the deputy, when they opened fire at him.
"Everybody was pulling out that way," Sam said. "I came forward, then she [the deputy] told me to stop, and then she comes and walks towards the truck and she shot," he told Nola.com.
At first, Sam said he did not see the deputy, stopped when she told him to, and was shocked when she pointed a gun at him, he said as he awaited surgery for his injuries Tuesday. He said what if his grandchildren were in the truck with him or if someone else could have been hurt from the gunfire.
His wife, Sheryl Sam, said she was at work when she received a call that her husband had been shot. Sheryl said deputies would not let her see him initially and "told relatives that he was being investigated and detained."
Sheryl Sam said she got a call to come back to the hospital around 1 a.m. and the deputies were gone, "He's never been in any trouble. He wouldn't hurt anybody," she told Nola.com.
Sheriff Joe Lopinto said the shooting is still under investigation and the department will take statements from the deputy and witnesses. According to the department, the body-worn cameras are being reviewed and the sheriff's office is not releasing footage.
Nola.com said Sam is not in Sheriff's Office custody, the department confirmed Tuesday afternoon. Authorities said "no determination has been made on whether he will face any criminal charges."
Sam said the incident was a nightmare and that he would like justice and the department, along with the deputy to take responsibility for the "unwarranted shooting."
"I'm not a bad person. She didn't have to do that. She really didn't have to shoot me," he said.
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