Jefferson Parish Deputy David Michel Jr. was fatally shot in Harvey, Louisiana. (Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office)
A Louisiana sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot during a broad daylight “pedestrian stop” in Harvey, The Times-Picayune reports.
Jefferson Parish Deputy Sheriff David Michel Jr., 50, was killed Wednesday afternoon. A suspect, Jerman Neveaux, 19, is in custody, police say.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Michel Was Shot 3 Times in the Back, the Coroner Says
Deputy David Michel Jr. was shot in the back three times, Jefferson Parish Coroner Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich told WGNO-TV.
This is the scene at Manhattan Boulevard and Ascot Road in Harvey, where a JPSO deputy was shot this afternoon:
The shooting occurred about 12:30 p.m. at the corner of Manhattan Boulevard and Ascot Road in Harvey’s Pebble Walk neighborhood, police told The Times-Picayune.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand called the killing a “cold blooded murder” at a press conference Wednesday night.
He said Neveaux flipped around as Michel was trying to search him, so that the two men were chest to chest. He then pulled a gun from his waistband and reached over Michel’s shoulder to shoot him in the back, Normand told reporters.
Neveaux then fired two more shots into Michel’s back at point-blank range as he fell to the ground, Normand said.
Michel was rushed to the hospital and died less than an hour after the shooting.
2. The Suspect, Who Was on Probation, Was Arrested After a Manhunt
Jerman Neveaux. (Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office)
The suspect, Jerman Neveaux, 19, is in custody was taken into custody after a manhunt WDSU-TV reports. He was in custody as of 4 p.m. and was being treated at a hospital for unknown injuries.
Police have not yet said why the suspect was being stopped by Michel or if they know of a motive for the shooting.
The suspect is being questioned and no charges have been filed. Police initially had launched a manhunt for two suspects.
Neveaux was on probation and did not want to go back to jail for having a gun, sources told WDSU.
Read more about Neveaux at the link below:
3. Michel Had Been With the Sheriff’s Office Since 2007 & Worked in the Street Crimes Unit
Dep. David Michel Jr., 50, had been with JPSO since 2007. He was assigned to Street Crimes
Michel has been with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office since 2007, the Times-Picayune reports.
Michel’s father told officials, “As difficult as this is, he’s doing what he loved to do.” #JPSO
He was assigned to the Street Crimes unit. He started his career as a reserve deputy and became a full-time deputy in 2013, first working in patrol. He was moved to Street Crimes in 2015.
4. His Wife Is Also an Employee of the Sheriff’s Office
Dep. David Michel’s wife, also a JPSO employee, was about two miles from shooting scene when it occurred.
Michel’s wife also worked for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, according to The Times-Picayune.
She was about two miles away from the scene of the shooting.
His wife was at lunch at a nearby restaurant and tried to call him after seeing officers racing to the crime scene.
“He was a great guy, he was well-liked,” Deputy Craig Taffaro said at a press conference. Taffaro said he spoke to Michel’s father, who told him, “as difficult as this is, he’s doing what he loved to do. It’s a very tragic time for all of us. Our whole family is very said about this.”
At a later press conference, Sheriff Newell Normand told reporters Michel was a great officer who could light up a room.
“I wish I had 1,000 of him,” Newell said.
5. Another Jefferson Parish Deputy Was Shot During a Raid Earlier This Year
Michel is the second Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy shot in 2016.
Jefferson Parish Deputy Stephen Arnold, 35, was shot in January in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, WDSU-TV reported. He survived the shooting, but was critically injured.
“He is in serious condition,” Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said at the time. “He went a period of time when he was not breathing. They operated on him for better than two hours.”
A suspect, Jarvis Hardy, is in custody and facing both federal and state charges. He was the subject of a federal drug task force raid at the time of the shooting.
