SHREVEPORT, La. — A Black man was unarmed when police in Louisiana fatally shot him in the chest last week after he ran away from a domestic disturbance call, authorities said.
The federal prosecutor in Shreveport, U.S. Attorney Brandon Brown, said Tuesday he’s keeping in contact with state police, which is the agency investigating the shooting.
Alonzo Bagley, 43, was killed outside a Shreveport apartment complex on Friday and no weapon was found on or near him, Col. Lamar Davis, the superintendent of Louisiana State Police, said at a news conference Monday.
The Shreveport police officer who shot Bagley, 23-year-old Alexander Tyler, has been placed on administrative leave, Davis said.
Bagley was killed after two officers responded to a call around 10:50 Friday night to what Davis described as a “domestic disturbance” call, without providing details.
Bagley went through a bedroom onto a balcony, jumped to the ground and ran, Davis said. The officers chased him.
“Upon rounding a corner of the building, Officer Tyler observed Mr. Bagley and fired one shot from his service weapon, which struck Mr. Bagley in the chest,” Davis said.
“Both officers immediately began to render first aid,” Davis added. Bagley was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The family has hired a Louisiana attorney Ronald Haley.
“Our office will walk through this process with the Bagley family, to ensure transparency and accountability,” Haley's firm said in a statement posted Monday on Facebook.
Haley’s other high-profile clients include the family of Ronald Greene, a Black motorist whose 2019 death in state police custody in north Louisiana prompted lawsuits and criminal charges against law enforcement officers.
Brown, the federal prosecutor, said he has also contacted the FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division about the shooting. He did not say whether there would be a federal investigation.
“I am encouraged by the fact that the investigative response and the federal and state collaboration pertaining to this incident has been swift and efficient,” Brown said.
Davis said police had numerous interviews to do and were still analyzing evidence from the scene. They will review recordings from officers' body cameras and in-car cameras. Those videos will eventually be released publicly. “We do not have a hard date, but I will tell you as soon as we can release it we will release it,” Davis said.
“I’m asking the community to remain patient as we continue to conduct a very thorough investigation," Davis said.
The Shreveport police department said Monday that they had asked state police to investigate the shooting and referred all questions to the state agency.
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