Speaking of coming to an officer's assistance...

[KBCraig]

There's a Baton Rouge traffic division officer who's probably pretty happy he had civilian help.

There are three articles here. I'll post them in chronological order. The first is a sob piece about the family and their hard-working, entrepeneurial son, with no mention of his record of violent felonies.

The subsequent stories change the picture just a tad.

Kevin

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/2335111.html

BR shooting still unexplained

Mother heard son shot over cell phone

By MARK F. BONNER
Advocate staff writer
Published: Feb 19, 2006

Sharalean Temple heard the gunshots that killed her son Friday afternoon through an open line to her son’s cell phone.

Along with shouted words, she heard about three gunshots, Temple said Saturday inside her home surrounded by family members.

“I could tell something was wrong when he called,� Temple, 51, said. “We didn’t talk, but I heard raised voices on the line, then a few minutes later I heard some shots. That was his last phone call.�

Her son, George Temple II, 24, was shot and killed in a parking lot about 2:15 p.m. after a scuffle with a motorcycle officer escorting a funeral down Greenwell Springs Road, authorities reported Friday.

The officer, who apparently wanted to cite Temple for a traffic violation, pulled Temple’s car over in the parking lot of Auto Zone on the corner of Greenwell Springs and Joor Road, authorities said.

Investigators are still unsure if the shots that killed Temple came from the police officer’s gun, or from a eyewitness who, after hearing the officer yell for help, grabbed his own gun and fired, authorities said.

There is no indication that Temple was armed, authorities said.

That motorcycle officer, whom police identified Saturday as Brian Harrison, 32, was placed on paid administrative leave as a result of the shooting, said Baton Rouge Police spokesman Sgt. Charles Armstrong.

Harrison, a veteran of four and a half years on the force, suffered contusions to his face and possibly a broken jaw because of the fight, authorities said.

Harrison was released from the hospital in good condition Friday night, but attempts to reach him for comment Saturday were unsuccessful.

Fred Raiford, spokesman for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, said Saturday detectives had not interviewed Harrison about the shooting and therefore would not release any more information until at least Monday.

The Temples made clear Saturday that their “Georgie� was no thug — he was an entrepreneur, a Southern University business student and the father of a 14 month-old son.

In high school, he was a multi-sport athlete at Second Chance Academy, where his father, George Temple, coached him in track and field.

“The only reason we didn’t win a state championship was because we were coming from a small school and we didn’t have enough people,� Temple, 53, fondly recalled. “We were very proud of that.�

George Temple said that later on, the two forged a partnership in business — he ran his established business, Expert Moving Co., while his son opened Expert Sound, a successful car accessory business.

The two businesses were a family affair, operating out of the same location at 7221 Airline Highway, he said.

“The last time I talked to him was Friday morning,� George Temple said. “He was excited about the progress that was being made in the construction of our new building.�

Temple said he and his son worked side-by-side since the boy was 11 years old.

“Whenever me and my son did things, we were successful,� Temple said. “He had the drive and energy to run a business and he had the gumption to see a project through.�

Temple’s little sister, Candace Temple, said it was that sort of vigor that allowed her brother to set goals and then accomplish them.

“Georgie believed that you could do anything and would always say, ‘Go for it,’� the 20-year-old LSU student said. “He was humble in his success. It wasn’t that he was doing well, it was we are doing well.�

That attitude drove him to enroll as a business student at Southern University, the Temples said.

With all of them either having earned college degrees or working toward degrees, it was a matter of pride, not necessity, that he get one too, they said.

“He was successful with his business, but his family has a system that values education, a hard-work ethic,� Sharalean Temple said. “Above that, we are all Christians and we all attend Bethany World Prayer Church.�

“I know my son would not hit a cop unless he was highly provoked,� she said. “I feel I can speak for everyone on that.�

When her son called Friday, Sharalean Temple said, he didn’t say a word to her. All she heard was shouting, she said.

On the other line, she called Expert Sound because she thought something was going down at the business. But employees there said nothing had happened.

She called police, who then went to Expert Sound, but reported nothing was wrong there, she said.

Meanwhile, she was still listening to her son’s cell phone call and everything that was going on at the scene of the shooting. She said she couldn’t make out what the argument was about, but she remembers hearing the gunshots.

“I thought, ‘I know I didn’t hear that,’ so I put it out of mind,� she said. “A little while later, the police called me and asked me what sort of car he was driving and I told them a black Mercedes. He hung up the phone and to this moment, I have not heard from them since then.�

Sitting on a bedroom floor, Sharalean Temple was composed and confident some good would come out of this tragedy.

“At this point we don’t know what that good will be, but we are faithful and we serve a good God,� she said. “You asked us about how much he calls. He calls pretty often and that was the last call he made to me.�

[KBCraig]

Second article:

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/2340841.html

Bystander fired fatal shot in Friday incident

By BRETT TROXLER
2theadvocate.com Staff
Published: Feb 20, 2006

From a report by News 2's Ken Pastorick

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sherrif's Office announced Monday that the gunshot that left one man dead after an altercation with a Baton Rouge Police Department officer was fired by a bystander trying to help.

Officer Brian Harrison pulled 24-year-old George Temple over after he cut off a funeral procession. After Harrison pulled Temple over and wrote him a ticket, the two began to fight. Temple got the best of the officer and was on top of him, and Harrison called for help.

Perry Stephens came to Harrison's aid and shot and killed Temple.

EBRSO's investigation concluded that shots were fired from two guns during the incident.

Harrison fired three shots, hitting Temple once in the stomach.

Stephens ordered Temple to get off the officer. When he didn't, Stevens fired four shots from his own gun into Temple's chest and then one into his head.

Stephens did have a concealed handgun permit. Investigators also said Temple had an arrest record with violent offenses.

BRPD officials placed Harrison on paid administrative leave following the incident.

Harrison was also involved in another shooting incident in 1995. While working for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, Harrison shot an innocent bystander while chasing a robbery suspect. He was suspended, but did not lose his job.

Col. Greg Phares of EBRSO said his office will not file any charges against Harrison or Stephens, though he will hand the evidence over to District Attorney Doug Moreau. Moreau will have the option of filing charges or taking the case to the grand jury.

[KBCraig]

Third and final article:

http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4527526

Bystander Fired Deadly Shot, Not Officer
Feb 20, 2006, 05:39 PM
Perry Stevens

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.

[AG-EE]

I wonder when the family will file suit against the CHL guy. I hope it gets thrown out of court, but kudo's to him for helping the officer.

[KBCraig]

Here's the latest update. Coroner says the officer's shot to the BG's torso would not have been fatal. The citizen's first four shots (also to the BG's torso) likely would have been, eventually. And the citizen's one shot to the BG's brain was fatal.

Duh!

Turns out the "scuffle" (as the Advocate termed it, even though the BG had the officer down on the ground and was beating the tar out of him) started when the officer attempted to arrest the BG for attempting to bribe him. BG had several thousand dollars in cash.

Kevin


http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/2446532.html

Autopsy shows witness’s gunfire fatal

By KIMBERLY VETTER
Advocate staff writer
Published: Mar 11, 2006

The bullet a Baton Rouge Police officer fired into a business owner on Feb. 17 caused minor injuries, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office.

Officer Brian Harrison, 32, shot George Temple II, 24, in the abdomen, says Temple’s autopsy report, which the Coroner’s Office released on Friday.

The shot was fired during a scuffle between the two men in the parking lot of the AutoZone at 9007 Greenwell Springs Road, authorities have said.

“This type of shot would not have incapacitated someone,� said Don Moreau, chief of operations for the Coroner’s Office. “It struck no bone or no major organs. He would have lived from this with proper medical attention. It was not a fatal injury.�

Five serial shots from witness Perry Stephens, 56, caused major injuries and ultimately killed Temple, the report says.

Two of those shots hit Temple’s left lung. Two more perforated his back chest skin and his upper back and lower neck. One shot hit Temple’s brain, the report says.

“The brain shot killed him,� Moreau said. “The other shots, eventually, probably would have killed him.�

A toxicology report released earlier this week by the Coroner’s Office shows that Temple had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of the incident.

Col. Greg Phares, chief criminal deputy for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, said Wednesday that an attempt by Temple to bribe Harrison is what led to a fight that escalated into the shooting.

Harrison told investigators Temple tried to bribe him as he was writing Temple a traffic ticket, Phares said.

Harrison, who was off-duty working as a motorcycle escort for a funeral procession, pulled Temple’s Mercedes Benz into the AutoZone parking lot after Temple cut into the procession, Phares said.

After Temple attempted to bribe him, Harrison told investigators he tried to arrest Temple, Phares said. That’s when Temple punched Harrison and overpowered him.

Phares would not say how much money Temple offered Harrison but that Temple had several thousand dollars on him at the time.

The Sheriff’s Office gave all written reports and evidence related to the case to the District Attorney’s Office earlier this week, Phares said.

Members of the East Baton Rouge Parish Black Elected Officials, some area ministers, and the Baton Rouge chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an independent investigation into the shootings. The groups are waiting for a response.

[carlson1]

Members of the East Baton Rouge Parish Black Elected Officials, some area ministers, and the Baton Rouge chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an independent investigation into the shootings. The groups are waiting for a response.

Anyone shocked?

[stevie_d_64]

Members of the East Baton Rouge Parish Black Elected Officials, some area ministers, and the Baton Rouge chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an independent investigation into the shootings. The groups are waiting for a response.

As tragic as it is to take a human life, and that being something you should think about for a long time afterward...

I think all these groups calling for some kind of something from the government better think about why this all started to begin with...How it ended was really a moot point...And certainly could have been avoided if Mr. George Temple II, 24, had not made a poor decision to earn an arrest...

[revjen45]

Something to keep in mind regarding use of deadly force to assist the police: a cop on the ground may not recognize you as an ally. You could be joining the fray on the side of the perp. Also, when the call goes out that a cop has been shot, assaulted, etc every unit within radio range will fry the motor to get there. Think about whether you want to be standing there with a smoking pistol in your hand when every cop for 50 miles pulls in without knowing who's who. Not to discourage helping the police, but keep in mind how they will see it before things get sorted out.

[KBCraig]

Something to keep in mind regarding use of deadly force to assist the police: a cop on the ground may not recognize you as an ally. You could be joining the fray on the side of the perp. Also, when the call goes out that a cop has been shot, assaulted, etc every unit within radio range will fry the motor to get there. Think about whether you want to be standing there with a smoking pistol in your hand when every cop for 50 miles pulls in without knowing who's who. Not to discourage helping the police, but keep in mind how they will see it before things get sorted out.

This is a situation where you better do a whole lot of communicating. Start by asking the officer if you can help. If he obviously can't answer, then tell him that you're helping.

And if you're standing there with a smoking gun when backup arrives, expect to be handcuffed until things are sorted out.

Kevin