Lafayette police fire 11 rounds, kill Black man after tasing him in disturbance call

Ashley White
Lafayette Daily Advertiser

A Black Lafayette man, shot Friday night by police in a flurry of 11 gunshots while surrounded by a half dozen officers, died later in an incident some community leaders argue should not have ended in the fatal shooting.

Louisiana State Police identified the man killed as 31-year-old Trayford Pellerin and said he was carrying a knife when police first tasered him and later shot and killed him.

Rickasha Montgomery, a witness who filmed a video of the police shooting of the suspect, said she saw what appeared to be a knife in the man's hand. She said officers tased him, but he kept walking down Evangeline Thruway away from police.

She saw about six officers with guns pulled out, she said. Officers yelled for the man to get on the ground, the 18-year-old Montgomery said. But when the man reached the door of the Shell gas station, officers shot him. 

Flowers outside convenience store on Evangeline Thruway as a memorial to man shot and killed by Lafayette Police. Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020.

"When I heard the gunshots, I couldn't hold my phone like I was first filming," the Lafayette woman said. "I feel kind of scared about it. I'm traumatized. You're so used to hearing about this, but I never thought I would experience it."

Louisiana state police investigate Black man's death after police shooting

Lafayette police asked Louisiana State Police to investigate the officer-involved shooting.

Lafayette officers responded at about 8 p.m. Friday to a disturbance involving a person armed with a knife at the Circle K gas station on Northeast Evangeline Thruway near the intersection of Castille Avenue, said Louisiana State Police spokesman Trooper Derek Senegal. 

Trayford Pellerin, right, died after Lafayette police shot him Friday night during a confrontation. His sister Treneca Pellerin, far left, set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the family. Their mother Michelle Pellerin is center.

When officers arrived, they found Pellerin in the parking lot of the gas station. Officers tried to apprehend Pellerin, but he left the scene, Senegal said. 

Officers pursued Pellerin, who walked about half a mile to the Shell gas station on Northeast Evangeline Thruway at the intersection of Chalmette Drive. At the Shell station, Pellerin attempted to enter the store. Police shot the man at the Shell station, Senegal said. 

A man kneels to say a prayer outside convenience store on Evangeline Thruway where a man was shot and killed by Lafayette Police. Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020.

Pellerin was taken to a local hospital where he later died. 

At least one officer fired their gun, interim Police Chief Scott Morgan said. The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave with pay until an investigation is complete. 

The family has retained Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump. Crump, who is based in Tallahassee, Florida, has represented the families of other Black men who have been killed by police, including George Floyd. He also represented the family of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black teen who was fatally shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in 2012.

Trayford Pellerin, 31, of Lafayette, was killed by Lafayette police Friday night, Aug. 21. His shooting, after officers fired 11 shots, has sparked days of protests, calls for firing of the officers and police reforms.

"We stand with Trayford's family in demanding justice and transparency into the reckless shooting and tragic killing of this man," Crump said in a statement Saturday. "We refuse to let this case resolve like so many others: quietly and without answers and justice."

Video of man's shooting outside gas station circulating on social media

Montgomery's video circulating on social media shows a Black man in a white t-shirt and dark pants being shot by at least one officer outside the Shell gas station.

The video, which has not been confirmed by authorities as footage from the Friday night shooting, shows several officers surrounding the man before firing 11 shots at him, after which the man fell to the ground and did not move.

This video contains graphic language and images.

The incident troubles Marja Broussard, the president of the Lafayette chapter of the NAACP. She said she started receiving texts and calls and immediately headed to the scene late Friday night. 

After watching the video, which she called hard to watch, Broussard said she wonders what other measures could have been taken to deescalate the situation. 

"How much time did they have to diffuse it?...How much time did they have to do something other than freaking shoot?" she said. "I think that so much more could have been done."

Alanah Odoms Hebert, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, issued a statement Saturday calling the shooting an "inappropriate and excessive use of force by these officers."

"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," Hebert said. "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."

Officials promise to provide info: 'We’re not trying to hide anything'

The police chief promised to provide as much information to the community as possible.

"We expect to do whatever we can as far as transparency goes," Morgan said. "Please understand we are not trying to not give out information. All information has to be verified before we give information out. Part of being transparent is also to get it right."

Local officials, including Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory, Parish Councilman AB Rubin, City Councilman Glenn Lazard and Louisiana State Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, were at the scene along with representatives from the local NAACP.  

"We actually look to them (community leaders) for help in these types of circumstances," Morgan said. "That’s the working relationship the Lafayette Police Department has. We’re not trying to hide anything. We involve them because we want them to have some knowledge of what’s going and an assurance that we’re not going to intervene in the investigation and we’re going to do the right thing."

Louisiana State Police are investigating the Friday night shooting of a man by Lafayette police.

This is the third time an on-duty Lafayette Police Department officer has shot a person in five weeks, and the fourth in 2020. Morgan said the circumstances for each incident vary and "we have to judge each one based on its merit."

The state ACLU's statement called the police shooting a "murder" and "brutal killing."

"None of our communities are safe when the police can murder people with impunity or when routine encounters escalate into deadly shooting sprees," according to the statement. "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.”

Broussard and other community activists want transparency from the police department about the incident, which they said will help rebuild trust within the community.

Going forward, NAACP Young Adult Committee Chairperson Devon Norman said he hopes the community will support the family of the man who was shot. 

"For the community to come together to make sure that whether you're from the north side of town or the south side of town that we make it clear that in the city of Lafayette police officers don't kill citizens," he said. "That police officers de-escalate situations. Police officers were meant to protect and serve and how do we do that? We put the people in jail who did this."

Contact Ashley White at adwhite@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @AshleyyDi