LAPLACE, La. — An impassioned Sheriff Mike Tregre defended the officer who shot a 20-year-old man in the face after a car crash Sunday morning.
The St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff called a joint press conference with Louisiana State Police to release new information on the investigation into the shooting of Jacoby Williams.
“I believe the officer’s actions were justified and I stand by him and with him on his actions,” Tregre said. “This is a tragedy I wish it didn’t happen, but it did and here we are. If it wasn’t for the actions of the individuals in that car we would not be here today.”
According to Tregre, deputies were sent on a “rescue mission” after someone called 911 to report a car stuck in the marsh near I-10 West and US-51.
Tregre said that when deputies arrived, they saw two people, Jacoby Williams and Kendell Prembrook, inside the car. That’s when Officer Shaquille Guerin went and opened the passenger-side door and saw an AK-47-style rifle sitting in Williams’ lap.
According to Tregre, Williams complied with Officer Guerin’s orders to put his hands in the air at first, but when Guerin grabbed Williams’ arm to restrain him, he pulled away and reached for the gun. That’s when Tregre says officers pulled their weapons and Guerin shot Williams once.
Williams’ family told WWL-TV on Monday that the bullet hit him in the nose and went through his jaw and out the back of his neck.
After the shooting, Tregre says Williams and Prembrook both got out of the car. He says officers gave first-aid to Williams and took him in a police cruiser to Ochsner on Airline Highway for treatment.
He is still alive in the hospital, but listed in critical condition.
Shondrell Perrilloux, president of the St. John the Baptist Parish NAACP, held a press conference earlier in the day, saying the shooting could have been prevented if St. John deputies were better trained and wore body cameras.
"We demand proper training. We demand the department of justice to thoroughly hold each responsible parties, if need be, accountable for their actions. We are calling for the immediate need of body cameras … so that we can prevent this unfortunate situation for happen in future events," Perrilloux said.
Louisiana State Police have led the investigation into the shooting. Tregre said that no one from the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office touched the crime scene after the shooting.
Williams faces four counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer and resisting a police officer with force or violence when he is released from the hospital. Prembrook was issued a citation for careless operation.
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