NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — More than two weeks after a man was shot by an officer outside the Caesars Superdome, the New Orleans Police Department has released video of the moments leading up to and following the shooting.
On Tuesday, November 15, the NOPD says officers responded to the stadium where they found 62-year-old Jimmy Deeson, who is homeless, sitting on the ground in front of the ticket booth, reportedly refusing to leave.
When detectives arrived, they ordered Deeson to drop his knife, and that’s when detectives say the man lunged at officers. This included Officer Romelo Noel, who would end up shooting Deeson in the arm and being reassigned.
Video from Noel’s body cam shows responding officers ordering Deeson to put the knife down, then pulling the trigger and striking the man. See the moments leading up to the shooting in the player above. In the final moments of the full video, Deeson is heard saying “Please sir, let me die.”
NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson says detectives are not ruling out that Deeson tried to commit suicide by cop.
“Anytime there’s an officer-involved shooting in New Orleans, the NOPD’s Force Investigation Team investigates, and in this case, they are still investigating Take a look at the body cam footage,” Ferguson told reporters at a press conference on Thursday (Dec. 1).
Deeson has since recovered from the gunshot. Police say that he has a history of violence, being previously convicted of murder in another state. He’s been charged with five counts of aggravated assault and trespassing related to the incident.
Watch the full video on the NOPD Youtube channel.