NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans police officers responded to a call of an officer needing assistance Tuesday night. At the scene, they found the officer and a man who he shot.
According to NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson, a reserve officer was off duty and working a detail at about 9:00 in the 3800 block of Saint Bernard Avenue. Ferguson said that the officer was wearing his uniform but not a body camera because he was not on official police business.
Ferguson says that the officer left his detail location when he heard gunshots in the area. During his search, he found a man who was holding a gun. According to the superintendent, the officer told the man to drop the gun but he did not, and instead, aimed it at the officer. That’s when the officer fired. The man was injured when a bullet grazed his head.
Ferguson is hoping someone will come forward who saw what happened or has security camera footage that shows the turn of events.
The officer has been reassigned while both federal and independent investigators look into the incident.
At last word, the man who was shot was in fair condition. The officer was unhurt. But Ferguson said that a passerby drove to the VA hospital when a bullet apparently shattered the glass of the man’s car. The superintendent did not know if the bullet came from the initial shots that the officer heard or from the confrontation with the suspect.
Ferguson did not say if the suspect and officer got into a gunfight or how many shots were fired. He did reveal that the suspect is a 29-year-old man.
