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Knimrod
02-21-2006, 05:04 PM
Bystander Fired Deadly Shot, Not Officerhttp://wafb.images.worldnow.com/images/4527526_BG1.jpg
Feb 21, 2006
Baton Rouge Post

There were two big developments Monday in the case of a motorist who was shot and killed along Greenwell Springs Road Friday after a fight with a police officer. Investigators say an autopsy shows the deadly bullet was fired by a bystander, not the officer. Police also announced that no charges would be filed in the case, either against the police officer involved or the bystander who fired the fatal shot into the head of George Temple.

East Baton Rouge Sheriff's spokesman Greg Phares says Officer Brian Harrision was escorting a funeral procession Friday when he pulled Temple over and wrote him a ticket for breaking into the procession. According to Phares, that's when Temple attacked Harrison. Police say Perry Stevens was walking outside of the Auto Zone on Greenwell Springs Road when he heard Harrison yelling for help. Harrison was reportedly on his back with Temple on top of him. That's when Stevens went to his car and grabbed his .45 caliber pistol.

According to Col. Greg Phares, "[Mr. Stevens] orders Mr. Temple to stop and get off the officer. The verbal commands are ignored and Mr. Stevens fires four shots, all of which struck Mr. Temple."

Perry Stevens fired four shots into Temple's torso. Officer Harrison had already fired one shot into Temple's abdomen. With Temple still struggling with the officer, Perry continued to advance toward the scuffle.

"He again orders Mr. Temple to stop what he was doing and get off the officer. Those commands are ignored and he fires a fifth shot and that hits his head. The incident is over with, and as you know, Mr. Temple is dead."

Police are calling the shooting death justified. Perry Stevens has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Col. Phares would not give out any more details relating to the shooting. Both Phares and Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff stopped short of crediting Stevens with saving the officer's life. LeDuff says the entire incident is unfortunate.

"I spoke with his father at the scene briefly," said LeDuff. "I think this is a tragic situation all around."

9 News is told George Temple has a criminal record, and Officer Harrison was involved in a shooting while employed as a prison guard in East Baton Rouge Parish, where he was suspended for three days back in 1995.

Reporter: Jim Shannon

Link to Story (http://story.batonrougepost.com/p.x/ct/9/id/bef4869a7fceac50/cid/58efbe858884606b/)

Cherokee
02-21-2006, 06:57 PM
Four rounds from a .45, plus one round from the LEO and he's still struggling? I bet we hear he was on some kind of drug, for sure.

Knimrod
02-21-2006, 07:05 PM
Perry Stevens has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. ...Both Phares and Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff stopped short of crediting Stevens with saving the officer's life.

I wonder if Officer Harrison would deny credit to his rescuer???

comet66
02-21-2006, 07:47 PM
Officials Meet to Discuss Further Investigation
Feb 21, 2006, 07:03 PM
Col. Greg Phares, Lt. Keith Bates, Chief Jeff LeDuff

One day after authorities announced there would be no charges filed in the shooting death of George Temple, there are high level meetings and talk of further investigation. Temple is the Baton Rouge businessman shot to death, reportedly by a bystander, as Temple and a Baton Rouge police officer tangled during a traffic stop last Friday.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff and Col. Greg Phares of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Department said very little Wednesday afternoon after meeting with the district attorney.

"We're not really in a position to say anything because we are still conducting our investigation," said LeDuff.

The investigation has so far cleared police officer Brian Harrison and bystander Perry Stevens. It was determined that Stevens fired the fatal shot, killing Temple. The NAACP has called for action, but District Attorney Doug Moreau says that does not change policy in the D.A.'s office.

"Everybody wants to form opinions before they know anything about what happened," said Moreau. "We don't want to be part of that group. What we're going to do is our job, the way we do in all the other cases, and that's to evaluate what the facts are."

9 News has also uncovered more information on the background of George Temple. He was scheduled to be in district court judge Bonnie Jackson's courtroom next Monday at 9:00 a.m. to review a previous criminal case. Temple pleaded guilty in November to one count of simple battery and simple criminal damage to property for which he received a year of probation and ordered to therapy with a local psychologist.

9 News asked for a copy of Perry Stevens' application for a concealed weapon permit from State Police. All that authorities would provide is his name, address and date of birth. The rest of the information on the application is not public record.

Also, Baton Rouge Police cancelled a dedication ceremony Wednesday to fallen officer Terry Melancon, who was killed in the line of duty last August. Chief LeDuff says the ceremony will eventually happen, but that Wednesday just turned out not to be a good day.

Meanwhile, the NAACP is calling for action against what they are calling more police brutality. The NAACP says it is time for the Baton Rouge Police Department to change its ways. The organization places a lot of blame of Friday's shooting on the police department's policies and training. The group is angered that businessman George Temple ended up dead after being pulled over by a Baton Rouge police officer.

The NAACP wants to bring in the Justice Department for an independent investigation. Kwame Asante, president of the NAACP's local chapter, said Wednesday, "We have questions about the officers perceptions, even before the officer felt like his life was in danger."

The groups also wants Mayor Holden to form a special review board to look at cases like these involving police and sheriff's departments.

Reporters: Jim Shannon and Greg Meriwether

http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4533235&nav=0aWU

RSF
02-21-2006, 09:25 PM
Meanwhile, the NAACP is calling for action against what they are calling more police brutality.




**&K the NAACP and there mother's

Glock23
02-21-2006, 09:41 PM
I wonder if Officer Harrison would deny credit to his rescuer???

Mr. Stevens deserves a d@mn medal, and an honorary degree in criminal justice. What better way to "rehabilitate" a repeat offending criminal who violently attacks a police officer?

From their reaction to this incident, it sounds like the NAACP, or at least that local chapter, should change their name to National Association for the Advancement of Criminal Pissants.

Knimrod
02-21-2006, 11:42 PM
Police: Witness shot man five times
By KIMBERLY VETTER
Advocate staff writer
Published: Feb 21, 2006

No arrests will be made in the death of 24-year-old George Temple II, a local businessman shot and killed by a witness during a scuffle with a Baton Rouge police officer on Friday.

“We are not arresting anyone,” Greg Phares, chief criminal deputy with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, said Monday. “However, this is not the end of the process. Our investigation will be taken to the district attorney.”

Phares said Perry Stephens fired a shot to Temple’s head after witnessing a fight between Temple and Officer Brian Harrison.

Phares declined to release Stephens’ age and address.

He said Stephens shot Temple with a .45-caliber handgun five times, four times in the chest and once in the head. The incident occurred about 2:15 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of the AutoZone at 9007 Greenwell Springs Road at Joor Road.

Phares would not talk about bullet entry points, but said, “It is my understanding that Mr. Stephens attempted to place his shots in a way to minimize harm to the police officer since the two were so close.”

Stephens had a concealed handgun license, Phares said.

Phares said that investigators found a handgun in Temple’s car, but that it did not play a part in the altercation. Temple was the owner of Expert Sound, 7221 Airline Highway.

Harrison, 32, shot Temple once in the stomach during the struggle, Phares said

Attempts to reach Harrison Monday were unsuccessful. The Advocate left one message at his home.

While working for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, Harrison accidentally shot a customer in 1995 when two men robbed a convenience store in Baker, The Advocate has reported.

In that robbery, the customer was armed with a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol. After the bandits left the store, the customer followed and fired at least one shot.

Harrison, who was in uniform but unarmed, obtained a .357-caliber pistol from the store owner and fired a single shot at a figure running west in the direction that the robbers also ran, accidentally shooting the customer in the lower back.

No charges were filed against Harrison, East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court records show.

Stephens also could not be reached for comment. The Advocate left two messages at his home and made a visit to his house on Monday but did not reach him.

At a news conference Monday, Phares said Stephens walked out of the AutoZone and got his weapon after hearing Harrison, who was fighting with Temple on the ground, yell for help.

As Stephens, who was wearing a neck brace and using a cane, walked toward the men, he heard shots and Harrison again call for help.

At that point, Stephens asked Temple to get off Harrison, Phares said. When Temple did not comply, he shot Temple four times in the chest.

Stephens ordered Temple again to get off Harrison. When he did not comply, he shot Temple in the head, killing him, Phares said.

How the fight between Harrison and Temple began is still unclear to investigators. What they do know is that Harrison was off-duty and working as a motorcycle escort for a funeral procession going west on Greenwell Springs Road when a black S550 Mercedes driven by Temple cut into the procession, Phares said.

Harrison pulled Temple into the AutoZone parking lot and wrote him a ticket for a traffic violation. That’s when an argument began. What the two argued about is still unknown because Harrison has yet to be interviewed, Phares said.

Phares said investigators have talked with Harrison’s attorney and feel confident an interview with the officer will happen soon.
Words turned into a fight after Harrison attempted to remove Temple from his car, Phares said.

The fight left Harrison with face contusions. He is on administrative leave during the investigation, Police Chief Jeff LeDuff said at the news conference.

“This is a tragic scene all the way around,” said LeDuff, who added it is a police officer’s duty to keep unwanted cars out of a funeral procession. “I’ve written that ticket a hundred times.”

Wayne Laird, manager of Rabenhorst Funeral Home East, said his funeral home was involved in the procession that day.

“People are bad about cutting in a funeral procession and cutting on their lights and following the process and then dropping off wherever they want,” he said. “We don’t know if that actually happened, but that sort of thing is typical. It is very dangerous.”

According to court records, Temple was on probation for simple battery and simple damage to property at the time of his death.

A case against him also was pending involving counts of simple battery, simple trespassing and simple criminal damage to property, according to records at the Clerk of Court’s Office.

Link to story (http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/2343136.html)