Interview sheds more light on La. police officer’s fatal shooting of Dejuan Guillory
It’s happened again. Exactly one year after Philando Castile was killed by a police officer, another Black man suffers the same fate. One man is dead and the only witness was put in jail and charged with the attempted murder of the officer.
Dejuan Guillory, 27, was riding a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle through the backwoods of Louisiana with his girlfriend, Dequince Erin Brown. The couple were planning on going “frogging” when they rode past a parked care during the early morning hours of July 6. The driver of the car flashed its lights, pulled the couple over and revealed himself as Deputy Paul LeFleur.
The Root reports that LeFleur ordered the couple to lay on the ground after they didn’t provide him with any identification. While laying on his stomach with his hands behind his back, Guillory argued with LeFleur about what was happening while presenting no clear threat. Regardless, he somehow felt his life was in danger and shot Guillory in his back.
“They were both on the ground. Guillory was on the ground, on his belly, his hands behind his back, and the officer had a gun trained at Guillory’s back, maybe a foot or two from Guillory’s body,” said Joe Long, the attorney for Dequince Brown, in an audio interview with PenPoint News. “They were still arguing back and forth but Guillory was on the ground as directed. His hands were behind his back. He was not resisting. All of a sudden, a shot rang out.”
Brown then jumped on the deputy’s back and allegedly bit his neck to try and stop him from killing Guillory. He then shot the 27-year-old a few more times.
After killing Guillory, LeFleur didn’t even have the forethought to administer medical care or to call for backup so someone else could. The Root reports that he actually dropped his radio and Brown had to call herself. When additional authorities arrived, Brown was taken into custody and no one had even tried to help Guillory.
Guillory, the father of three and contract worker, is already deep in the same pattern that always follows these tragedies. His name is being immortalized both as a hashtag and a target for “Blue Lives Matter” supporters to dig up irrelevant information on.
You may see stories about how Guillory was a suspect of another crime or something from his past. Don’t be surprised. Just remember that there are only two people left who know what happened that night, and one of them is being silenced by sitting in a jail cell.