‘This Was a Moment None of Us in Law Enforcement Ever Want To See.’
The Associated Press
BOSSIER CITY, Louisiana (AP) -- Investigators said new details surrounding the murder of a police officer revealed that the shooter, a 65-year-old convict, was waiting for the officer when he arrived at the front door of a home to respond to a 911 call.
The wife of Michael Hebert, the shooter who committed suicide, said she was able to get away on Wednesday after he threatened her with a gun, according to Bossier City Police Chief Mike Halphen.
Halphen said the woman called 911 using a cellular telephone but the call “dropped out.” A dispatcher then sent officers to investigate the 911 hang-up call.
“As she was leaving the house, she told him she was calling police,” Halphen said. “And he said, ‘Fine, I’ll get at least one of them before they get me.’ And he did,” Halphen said.
Trey Hutchison was the first officer to arrive at the home, apparently unaware of the situation, authorities said.
“He was waiting for the officer and as soon as he knocked, he pulled the door open and shot him,” Halphen said. The second officer on the scene found Hutchison on the ground, shot in the back. He was wearing a protective vest when he was shot.
City police, sheriff’s deputies and state police converged on the neighborhood Wednesday and surrounded Hebert, who had barricaded himself inside the house, police said.
Hutchison was airlifted to LSU Hospital in Shreveport, where he died about an hour later.
The slain officer was married with no children. He had worked for Bossier City police less than a year but had been with the police department in Lufkin, Texas for about four years before that.
Halphen said Hebert spent five years in prison in the 1970s for armed robbery and kidnapping.
The last time a Bossier City officer was killed in the line of duty was December 1972.
The shooting stunned residents in the quiet Barksdale Annex neighborhood.
“At first, when I heard the shot, I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, a gunshot.’ At first, though, I thought maybe a tree branch broke. Then I heard the shot again,” said Miranda Barnes. “We’ve never had anything like this happen here.”
“This was a moment none of us in law enforcement ever want to see. We hate to see a day like this happen. When we lose a brother or sister in law enforcement, it touches all of us,” said Shreveport Assistant Police Chief Michael VanSant, who was among many law enforcement officers gathered at the hospital.
VanSant said he did not know the officer but rushed to the hospital to help.
“It’s a reality check for all officers even though it’s always in the back of our minds that it can happen,” he said.
Funeral services for Hutchison were scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church of Bossier City.