Louisiana Officers Arrested In Death Of 6-Year-Old Autistic Boy

https://youtu.be/vEZC8E8B3ZQ

Two Louisiana officers were arrested Friday and charged with second-degree murder for the death of a six-year-old autistic boy. In Marksville, Louisiana, on Tuesday, November 3, city marshals Derrick Stafford, 32, and Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, were in pursuit of the child’s father, Chris Few, and ultimately opened fire on the vehicle, striking Few’s son, Jeremy Mardis, five times in the chest and head, killing him. Few was also shot but not fatally; he was hospitalized. Early reports on Tuesday were sketchy, and not a whole lot of information was known about the incident. Louisiana State Police Trooper Scott Moreau said in a press conference that he could not confirm whether or not the shots came from the officers’ guns, the driver, or a passerby, and that there was “too much information to process right now.” When pressed further, Moreau said, “You can rest assured, we’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

https://youtu.be/WU4jPJS3zWo

In another Inquisitr article from yesterday, it was reported that the officers were trying to issue a warrant on Few when he fled and the pursuit began. Allegedly, Few ran into a dead end, backed up, and rammed the officers’ vehicles and fired at them, and that was when they opened fire. It was later determined that there were no warrants in Chris Few’s name and he did not have a gun. The two officers were placed on administrative leave at the time of the shooting along with two other officers also involved in the case. The two other officers have not yet been arrested or charged in the incident.

Picture of Jeremy Mardis from Chris Few’s Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201792602921486&set=a.4581826908415.235028.1374224995&type=3&permPage=1

The Louisiana state police arrested the two officers while they were working at their second jobs. In an updated report from CNN, it was reported that the arrested officers were being held at the Avoyelles Parish Detention Center in Cottonport, about 10 miles from Marksville. An official who spoke to CNN stated that the two officers were being held separately, away from the general population in the center.

In a news conference held on Friday evening after the officers’ arrest, State Police Col. Michael Edmonson said that body cam footage had been an influence in the arrest of the officers.

“We took some of the body cam footage. I’m not gonna talk about it, but I’m gonna tell you this — it is the most disturbing thing I’ve seen and I will leave it at that. That little boy was buckled into the front seat of that vehicle and that is how he died.”

KTLA 5 News also confirmed that there were no warrants out for Chris Few and that Few had no gun. Few was hospitalized for his injuries. Along with being charged with second-degree murder for Jeremy’s death, the two officers are also facing attempted second-degree murder for shooting the boy’s father.

https://www.facebook.com/ktla5/posts/10153798918134614

According to a news story by CBS News, it was discovered that one of the other officers who responded to the backup call was wearing the body cam which recorded the incident. According to a source, that officer supposedly said that Few was “not acting in a threatening manner” to the police. The CBS reporter asked Col. Edmonson what Few had done to be stopped by the police and Edmonson responded, “I think the rest of the investigation tells us that.”

“I mean, we’ve got to look at everyone involved, and we’ll get to the part of that, but what we learned from the very first night, what we heard an hour after that, was that they were trying to effect an arrest warrant on a traffic stop. Not factual. Not factual.”

It was also confirmed to CBS News by law enforcement that an investigation into whether or not one of the arrested officers had a personal grudge against Few and whether the shooting was revenge motivated is already underway.

A picture of Chris Few, from his Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206939350866968&set=a.1617863011170.134398.1374224995&type=3&source=11

Do you think the Louisiana State Police were right to have arrested the officers and for charging them with murder? Do you think officers will be arrested more now that there is such a huge public outcry for police misconduct?

[Photo – Mug shots courtesy of Louisiana State Police]