SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) -
Shreveport Police have released the name of the officer involved in a fatal shooting late Thursday night.
It happened around 7 p.m. at the Fair Park Terrace Apartments at Mertis Ave. and Greenwood Rd., in Shreveport's Queensborough neighborhood.
According to police, patrol officer Corporal Bryan Lauzon was working off-duty security in full uniform at the apartment complex when he observed a male subject riding a bicycle through the property there. Noticing the man was coming from an area of the complex where there had been complaints of narcotics activity, Corporal Lauzon, in his marked patrol unit, stopped the subject, identified as 44-year-old Michael Gilyard.
Upon further investigation, Corporal Lauzon discovered a handgun concealed in the suspect's pants and Gilyard began fighting with the officer. During this altercation, Gilyard apparently tried to gain control of the officer's handgun and Corporal Lauzon subsequently fired three shots, striking him once. At that point Corporal Lauzon was able to call for assistance and the Shreveport Fire Department arrived moments later, transporting the suspect to LSUHSC where he was later pronounced deceased.
Detectives and crime scene investigators were called to the scene, and police say they found a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun and about $8,000 in cash, along with just over three grams of suspected crack cocaine and about 16 grams of suspected marijuana, all of which they believe was concealed on the Gilyard's person at the time he was stopped by the officer.
The investigation is ongoing, and once completed, the findings will be turned over to the Caddo Parish District Attorney's Office for review.
For their part, the suspect's family is convinced that deadly force was not necessary. "He was walking away," says Gilyard's mother, Zenobia Rose. "For him to get shot in the back, that's not justifiable." "Why would you shoot somebody in the back. He was trying to kill him because he shot him more than one time."
Corporal Lauzon has been placed on administrative leave, per departmental policy. Lauzon was hired by the department in March of 2005. According to the Shreveport Police Department web site, Lauzon was Rookie of the Year in 2007.
Related Stories:
Copyright 2011 KSLA. All rights reserved.
SPD Cpl. Bryan Lauzon
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and KSLA, a Raycom Media Station.
