A photo of Alonzo Bagley taken from Shreveport Police Body Camera footage, February 3, 2023.
Alexander Tyler, the 23-year-old white Shreveport Police officer involved in the shooting death of 43-year-old Alonzo Bagley, is charged with negligent homicide. Investigators say Bagley was unarmed, but Tyler’s attorney Dhu Thompson said body camera footage shows Bagley reaching for something seconds before he jumped from a balcony and ran.
“That Mr. Bagley reached for an object on the nightstand, and then when my client came into contact with him, and it was less than a second in a simultaneous manner where he’s coming at his direction,” said Thompson.
An attorney for the Bagley family, Ron Haley said Bagley, a Black man, was not a threat to anyone if anyone he was a threat to himself. Haley said Bagley was only armed with a bottle before he ran from officers.
“But flight is not a death sentence. Flight does not mean shoot to kill. Flight does not mean judge, jury, and execution and that’s what happen here,” said Haley.
Thompson said during Tyler’s bond hearing there was testimony his client had only seconds to respond to what was a perceived threat when Bagley came towards him.
“To the extent that the investigators testified that this was a simultaneous reaction that happened in less than a second. I feel those facts are important with regards to analyzing where an officer did anything wrong in this case,” said Thompson.
Alonzo Bagley’s brother said he’s proud of state troopers for the role they’ve played in the investigation, and he hopes his brother’s death will mean something.
“It was no need for my brother to lose his life over a 9-1-1 call that was no threat there,” said Bagley.
The Bagley family has filed a $10 million federal lawsuit against Tyler for excessive force. The investigation remains active.
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