ACLU Statement On Fatal Lafayette Officer-Involved Shooting

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana has issued a statement after the fatal officer-involved shooting in Lafayette.

According to a release from Louisiana State Police, 31-year-old Trayford Pellerin was tased, then fatally shot after police responded to a call near a convenience store off Evangeline Thruway in northside Lafayette.

There has been much public debate and speculation over what is seen in a video of the incident that has circulated on social media since late last night, but no official details from state police or investigators when it comes to what Pellerin was doing prior to police arriving, or any details about the knife he was reportedly holding.

Alanah Odoms Hebert, the executive director of the Louisiana ACLU, has released the following statement:

Once again, video footage has captured a horrific and deadly incident of police violence against a Black person who was brutally killed in front of our eyes. While we need to know much more about what occurred last night, we know that it began with a routine ‘disturbance’ call and cell phone video from the scene clearly shows Mr. Pellerin moving away – not towards – police officers, only to be tased and then brutally shot dead. Trayford Pellerin should be alive today. Instead, a family is mourning and a community is grieving. Mr. Pellerin’s family and the people of Lafayette deserve answers and an independent investigation of what was clearly an inappropriate and excessive use of force by these officers. None of our communities are safe when the police can murder people with impunity or when routine encounters escalate into deadly shooting sprees. The ACLU of Louisiana will continue to demand justice for this brutal killing and push for reforms that will end the epidemic of police violence once and for all.

You can read the entire statement here via the ACLU press release here.