SLIDELL, La. (AP) - A man with a history of confronting police is accused of shooting an officer who answered a bar’s call for help, according to Slidell police.
Jeremy Lackey, 28, was held Saturday on three counts of attempted murder of a police officer and one of illegal use of a weapon, and Sgt. Cliff Laigast is recovering at home from a bullet wound in his leg, Detective Daniel Seuzeneau said Saturday.
It was not clear whether Lackey has an attorney who could comment.
Police were called Friday night to a bar where witnesses said Lackey was drunk, belligerent and trying to pick fights, Seuzeneau said.
He said Lackey’s friends were escorting him out of the bar when police arrived, but he pushed away, got a gun from his motorcycle, and fired about 10 shots at police.
“The officers positioned themselves between innocent bystanders and the shooter, and returned fire” as Lackey headed toward crowded businesses, Seuzeneau wrote in a news release. He said that after Laigast was shot, a K-9 officer released his dog, which got to Lackey before he could shoot again.
After the shooting, he said, investigators found social media posts that Lackey allegedly had made about three hours earlier, “indicating that he was purposely going out to make ’bad decisions.’”
About five months ago, Lackey barricaded himself in his apartment with a gun and bulletproof armor, but was arrested without injury.
“Mr. Lackey was an angry individual who desired conflict with law enforcement. There have been several documented incidents where Mr. Lackey has challenged and became confrontational with law enforcement across the nation; spanning from California to Louisiana,” Slidell Police Chief Randy Smith said. “His intention last night was to kill several of my officers.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.