The Associated Press
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) -- The local NAACP leader said Tuesday he would wait for an investigation before commenting on two police shootings within two weeks that have left black men dead.
An officer shot and killed Michael Jacobs, 37, on Monday night after chasing him down and struggling with him, police said. Officers had been investigating possible drug activity in the area.
Black leaders and ministers in Shreveport have long complained that the police force routinely singles blacks out for abuse, often using force unreasonably.
Ten people have been killed by Shreveport officers since 1998; nine were black. The results of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the March police killing of an unarmed black man, Marquise Hudspeth, are expected this month, said James Pannell, leader of the local NAACP branch.
Pannell said Tuesday that he has few details about the killings of Jacobs or of Anthony Jamison, 43. An officer shot and killed Jamison Nov. 23 after they struggled for several minutes.
“It seems to be two pretty unfortunate situations here, that they have been so close together, particularly at a time when we’re trying to bring the community back together,” he said. “We don’t want to overreact, we don’t want the community to overreact. We’re just trying to make sure the community remains calm.”
Pannell said he has been pleased with changes at the Shreveport Police Department since Mike Campbell took over as interim chief after the furor over Hudspeth’s killing forced the previous chief to resign in June.
Under Campbell, the department has altered the way it takes, investigates and reports on complaints against police officers. Pannell said the internal affairs office has been moved out of the police building, so people with complaints will not feel intimidated by roomfuls of men in police uniforms.
The city is expected to decide this month or in early 2004 whether to hire Campbell as chief.
Black leaders held anti-police rallies earlier this year after officers shot Hudspeth, 25, in the back eight times following a chase.
In Monday’s shooting, officers had answered a call about possible drug activity and stopped a car matching one described to police, Campbell said. He said Jacobs, a passenger, ran away, and Officer Jason Person chased and caught him.
During a struggle, Jacobs hit Person in the face hard enough that the officer later needed emergency room treatment, Campbell said. A witness also reported that Jacobs was reaching for the officer’s gun.
Person shot Jacobs; residents who live in the area reported hearing at least four shots.
Detectives did not find a gun on Jacob’s body, and it was not clear whether he had tried to grab Person’s pistol, Campbell said.
He said Person’s patrol car video camera may have caught the traffic stop and the beginning of the foot chase, but the shooting was out of its range.
Police fatally shot Jamison after he allegedly grabbed a state hospital guard’s gun and pointed it at her and a Shreveport police officer.
Officers in both shootings were put on paid administrative leave -- standard procedure for any officer involved in a shooting.