SHREVEPORT, La. — A white police officer in Tennessee, was arrested Thursday on a homicide charge in connection to the fatal shooting of a Black man who was running from police responding to the scene of a reported domestic disturbance.
Shreveport Police Officer Alexander Tyler, 23, was charged with negligent homicide in the death of 43-year-old Alonzo Sentell Bagley. Louisiana State Police released body camera footage of Tyler firing a single shot at Bagley on the night of Feb. 3.
Authorities said officers were responding to a call for a domestic disturbance issue, 911 audio of which was also released Thursday. When they arrived at the apartment, Bagley said he had to tend to his dog, then jumped over a railing on the apartment balcony. He ran from the building parking lot; Tyler and another officer chased after him.
READ MORE:What we know about the police shooting of Alonzo Sentell Bagley
Tyler fired as Bagley rounded a corner, striking Bagley in the chest.
In the video, Bagley can be heard saying, “Oh God, you shot me,” as he slumped to the ground.
Tyler can be heard saying, “no man, no man, come on, dude,” while performing aid afterward.
“Upon rounding a corner of the building, Officer Tyler observed Mr. Bagley and fired one shot from his service weapon, which struck Mr. Bagley in the chest,” Col. Lamar Davis, the superintendent of Louisiana State Police, said at a news conference earlier this month.
After the shooting, Tyler made “multiple statements claiming the suspect came toward him and he could not see his hands,” according to court documents by state police. Investigators did not find any weapons in Bagley’s possession.
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Family, community respond to officer’s arrest, body cam video
Within hours of the Louisiana State Police releasing body camera video, Bagley’s family and their attorney held a news conference.
“Sixty-six seconds, sixty-six different opportunities to do something different,” Ron Haley, attorney for the Bagley family, said of the incident.
The city of Shreveport responded at another news conference. “I have watched the video of the incident when Mr. Bagley was killed and it was hard for me to watch… it is heartbreaking for the family, and all concerned, Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux said.
Bagley’s brother Xavier Sudds said, “there was no need for my brother to lose his life over a 9-1-1 call with no threat there.”
Sudds said the Mayor of Shreveport recently reached out to the family. “It should have been done that night, but it’s been weeks. That’s not okay, I am not going to sit here and act like it is. That’s not okay,” he said.
The family has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Tyler.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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