Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — Deputies with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office are investigating a deputy-involved shooting that happened in Metairie over the weekend.
According to Sheriff Joseph Lopinto, on Sunday, Dec. 10, deputies were in the 3400 block of Houma Boulevard around 9:34 p.m., attempting to pull over a speeding car.
Deputies say the driver, Desiree Mallery, 31, of Metairie, refused to stop and led them on a pursuit.
During the chase, Mallery allegedly rammed her vehicle into multiple deputy units. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office says the deputy fired his weapon several times, but no one was hit.
The chase ended after deputies blocked Mallery in at the corner of Cleary Avenue and Veterans Boulevard, and she crashed into the curb.
After her arrest, deputies searched the vehicle and found four children, who were not wearing seatbelts, inside the vehicle. They were taken to a local hospital out of precaution after being involved in multiple crashes.
Mallery was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.
She faces charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, reckless operation of a vehicle, aggravated flight from an officer in a motor vehicle, aggravated obstruction of a roadway, three counts of aggravated criminal damage, resisting an officer, driving while under suspension, three counts of cruelty to a juvenile and multiple traffic offenses.
WGNO spoke with legal analyst and attorney Cliff Cardone, who says it’s too early to know if the shooting was justifiable.
“The question there is whether the police officer felt that his life was in jeopardy, and then it might be justifiable, but these types of split second decisions are going to be reviewed by agencies and lawyers probably to determine whether or not the officer was justified in shooting at someone in a car,” Cardone said.
The incident remains under investigation.
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