Police bodycam video shows New Orleans attacker firing at officers
NEW ORLEANS — The Islamic State group-inspired attacker who killed 14 people in a truck rampage on New Year’s Day in New Orleans fired at police from inside the vehicle before officers fatally shot him, police bodycam footage released Friday shows.
“They killed the terrorist. ... They are national heroes,” New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said of the officers at a news conference.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar had driven a white F-150 around a police car blockading the entrance of Bourbon Street, the city’s most famous thoroughfare, and plowed into revelers about 3:15 a.m. New Year’s Day, killing 14 and injuring dozens.
After the vehicle crashes, Officer Christian Beyer stands beside the truck’s open driver’s side door with his gun raised, bodycam footage from approaching Officer Luis Robles shows. Officer Jacobie Jordan is also seen standing by the driver’s side. He too had his gun drawn, officials said.
Beyer identifies himself and asks Jabbar to get out of the truck, said Sgt. Mike Guasco with the Public Integrity Bureau’s Force Investigation Team. The team is responsible for reviewing all police shootings.
Jabbar shoots from behind an airbag at close range, the gun’s muzzle flashing. Robles and at least two unidentified officers turn, run a few steps and dive to the ground as shots continue.
Beyer and Jordan fired their weapons, Guasco said. A third officer not visible in the footage, Sgt. Nigel Daggs, was standing by the truck’s front passenger door and also fired.
The man responsible for the truck attack in New Orleans visited the city twice before and recorded video of the French Quarter with hands-free glasses.
“Officers are trained for shoot scenarios like that — they’re highly trained, and that’s what you saw. These are split-second decisions,” Kirkpatrick said.
Citing the ongoing investigation and pending litigation, Kirkpatrick said police won’t yet disclose how many shots Jabbar fired. She said the officers had followed protocol and had been allowed to return to full duty.
“All officers are faced with ‘shoot, don’t shoot.’ And this was clearly within the law and clearly, solidly within policy,” Kirkpatrick said.
The three officers who shot at Jabbar were Daggs, a 21-year veteran of the department, and Beyer and Jordan, each of whom has been with the department nearly two years, police officials said. Jordan and nine-year Officer Joseph Rodrigue, who did not fire his weapon, were wounded in the thighs, and Rodrigue’s shoulder was fractured. Kirkpatrick declined to comment on whether officers or bystanders were hit by friendly fire.
The officers involved have provided statements to investigators about “their thinking and understanding” of the events that took place, Kirkpatrick said, declining to elaborate because it is part of an FBI investigation. She said the officers would not be available for comment.
She also refused to answer questions about the security measures in place or state how many officers were in the area at the time of the attack. A group of victims sued the city and two of its contractors on Thursday, claiming that officials failed to implement security measures that could have prevented the attack.
“I will answer any and all questions through the investigations and then the results of that will be made public,” Kirkpatrick said. She indicated that police will release more bodycam footage.
Brook writes for the Associated Press.
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