8 Louisiana police officers indicted after allegedly using "unnecessary excessive force"
Eight Shreveport, Louisiana, police officers have been indicted after using "unnecessary excessive force" during a January 24 incident, Caddo Parish District Attorney James E. Stewart, Sr. announced Wednesday. After attempting to stop a vehicle for seat belt violations, the officers tased and beat two men who made "an apparent attempt to surrender without resistance," Stewart said in a statement.
Aaron Jaudon, D'Andre Jackson, Mark Ordoyne, William Isenhour, Christopher McConnell, Brandon Walker, Treveion Brooks, and David Francis have all been charged with one count of malfeasance in office, Stewart said.
The incident began when officers tried to stop Chico Bell and Damon Robinson for the seat belt violations, Stewart said. When Bell kept driving, multiple officers began pursuing him. Video allegedly showed Bell throwing "several unknown objects" from the window of his car during the chase.
Dashcam footage showed that once the car stopped, "Bell and Robinson raised their hands, and then stuck both hands up out of the windows of the truck, in an apparent attempt to surrender without resistance," Stewart said. Despite that, officers allegedly pulled Bell out of the truck through the window, and began "striking, kicking, and tasing him to the torso and other areas of his body," the statement added.
Bell suffered injuries including a broken orbital plate, according to medical records cited in the statement.
An officer punched Robinson multiple times through an open window while other officers held his hands, Stewart said. He was then allegedly taken to the ground, "where once officer apparently struck him in the face with a flashlight," even though his hands were behind his back. His nose was broken in several places, the statement said.
A deputy from Caddo said Robinson was compliant and offered no resistance throughout the encounter, Stewart said, adding that body and dash camera video supported that assessment.
Officers said they recovered very small amounts of cocaine and ecstasy, as well as a stolen gun, that was allegedly thrown from the vehicle. Bell was arrested for flight from an officer, possession of Schedule I controlled dangerous substances, possession of Schedule II controlled dangerous substances, obstruction of justice, cyberstalking, and a fugitive matter. Robinson was arrested for fleeing an officer.
But the district attorney's office said that all charges arising from the January 24 incident had been dismissed, citing "unnecessary excessive force being used by SPD officers to make the arrest."