A day after Denham Springs police Cpl. Shawn Kelly died in the hospital from injuries sustained in a May shooting, city residents gathered Saturday for a preplanned fundraiser to support his family.
Kelly was shot May 11 while responding to a call of a man, Justin Roberts, and a woman arguing in a shopping center parking lot. Police say after Kelly got out of his car, Roberts began firing at him and another officer, striking Kelly multiple times.
Roberts fled the scene, but was shot after reportedly pointing a gun at a Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy. Roberts later died in the hospital.
Kelly remained at the hospital in critical condition for over three weeks before succumbing to his injuries at about 4 p.m. Friday while "surrounded by his family, friends, and members of the DSPD,” according to police. His remains were escorted later that night to Seale Funeral Home in Denham Springs, though funeral arrangements are pending.
Brandon Cavin, founder of the “Armor for Officers” nonprofit organization, had been putting together a benefit lunch to raise funds for Kelly and his family since days after the shooting.
But as planning went on, the Denham Springs community began showing in droves at events to support the officer. The event grew into an all-day fundraiser at the Denham Springs Municipal Oaks Pavilion including a live auction, car show and benefit concert, with all proceeds going to Kelly’s family.
“We went from cooking a pot of jambalaya and selling plate lunches to what all you see here in a matter of three weeks,” Cavin said.
On the day of the event, organizers created a small memorial under the pavilion featuring Kelly’s police motorcycle and tables holding framed photos of him on the job and with his family.
“This event had to go on. Whether he was here or not, his family needs our support,” said co-organizer Kasey Jackson. “It was never a thought of, ‘Should we cancel? Should we reschedule? Should anything be different?’”
Kelly began his law enforcement career in 1994 with the Louisiana Department of Corrections, and served with multiple agencies before joining DSPD in 2019. DSPD Chief Rodney Walker knew Kelly for 25 years, since Walker served as an officer for the department.
“His biggest thing was to take care of people and make our department better and make this community better — he made that clear every day,” Walker said. “I knew I could depend on him. There’s certain people that are close to me that I know I can count on to get things done, and he was one of them.”
Kelly wasn’t originally supposed to be at the scene on May 11, according to police — he was assigned to the department’s traffic unit, but noticed the responding officers were busy and volunteered to help them out while training a new officer.
In the weeks after Kelly went to the hospital, Denham Springs locals organized several blood drives, benefit meals, T-shirt sales and other fundraising events to help the officer’s family with medical costs. At a blood drive the day after the shooting, almost 50 gallons of blood were donated.
“He loved Denham Springs and the community loved him,” Walker said. “I knew from the beginning that community support would be there, so I wasn’t surprised at all. But it’s still amazing to see events like what happened here today.”
The outpour of support extended beyond the city of Denham Springs — the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office and Baton Rouge Police Department all issued statements of condolences for DSPD and Kelly’s family in the day since his death, sharing sentiments that Kelly's sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Not all who attended Saturday’s fundraiser knew Kelly personally — Craig Smith said he rode his motorcycle down to the event from Brookhaven, Mississippi, with a 15-person motorcycle group to support the fallen officer. He planned to attend the event all day and ride home after dark.
“Our police put their lives out there every day, and I really support what they’re doing to defend our freedom,” Smith said.