The mother of a man fatally shot by Louisiana police said her son was intelligent, shy and had sought therapy for social anxiety.
Her lawyers said they plan to sue over the death of Trayford Pellerin, who police said had a knife and was trying to enter a convenience store.
The shooting Friday night was captured on video, and the state ACLU condemned what it described as a "horrific and deadly incident of police violence against a Black person." Both the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Centre quickly called for an investigation.
Pellerin's death prompted a crowd of protesters to gather on Saturday and demonstrate against the latest fatal police shooting.
Officers in riot gear fired smoke canisters on Saturday night to get the crowd to disperse, Trooper Derek Senegal said. No tear gas was deployed, he said.
On Friday night, Lafayette officers followed Pellerin, 31, on foot as he left a convenience store where he had created a disturbance with a knife, Louisiana State Police said.
Stun guns failed to stop him, and the officers shot Pellerin as he tried to enter another convenience store, still with the knife, according to a news release.
Pellerin became anxious in groups and may have been frightened by the officers, Michelle Pellerin told The Advocate. He had sought professional help earlier this year, she said.
"Instead of giving him a helping hand they gave him bullets," national civil rights attorney Ben Crump told the newspaper. He and Baton Rouge attorney Ronald Haley said they have begun their own investigation by interviewing witnesses. Some said Pellerin was not armed, Haley said.
The family believes Pellerin may have been having a mental health crisis, Crump said.
Lafayette police asked state police to investigate — standard procedure in the state for shootings by local officers.
"Lafayette police shot Mr. Pellerin several times as he walked away from them," Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in an emailed statement. "His killing demands an analysis of the excessive use of force by law enforcement. We fully support movement leaders' calls for a swift and transparent investigation into Mr. Pellerin's killing."
State ACLU executive director Alanah Odoms Hebert said, "Once again, video footage has captured a horrific and deadly incident of police violence against a Black person who was brutally killed in front of our eyes."
Captured on video, the May 25 death of George Floyd under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer sparked a global reckoning over police tactics and racial injustice.
