SHREVEPORT, Louisiana — Police say the alleged gunman who shot and killed a female rookie officer in Shreveport was her boyfriend and father to her child.
According to the Shreveport Police Department, officials arrested Treveon Anderson, 26, Lawrence Pierre, 22, and Glenn Frierson, 38, on Tuesday in connection with the shooting death of Officer Chatéri Payne.
The men are currently facing charges of second-degree murder. The charges could possibly be upgraded.
During a Wednesday morning press conference, police announced Anderson, one of the men arrested, was Officer Payne's boyfriend and the two had a child together. They pegged him as the gunman responsible for taking Officer Payne's life. Authorities also say they recovered the weapon they believed was used in the shooting.
The SPD says officers worked tirelessly in search of information connected to the department's tragic loss.
Officer Payne was shot as she was preparing to report for her shift on Thursday, January 9. She was not engaged in an active scene when the crime occurred and died at a Shreveport hospital. The Shreveport Times reports Payne, who was also a mother, had been an officer for less than two months when her promising life was cut short.
The Shreveport Police Officer's Association released a statement in which they described Payne as young, beautiful and dedicated to serving the citizens of Shreveport.
The SPD says a public viewing to honor Payne's life will be held Friday, January 18, from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Winnfield Funeral Home, located at 3701 Hollywood Avenue.
A wake will take place Friday, January 18, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the sanctuary at Summer Grove Baptist Church at 8924 Jewella Avenue.
The funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, January 19, at 11 a.m., also at Summer Grove Baptist Church.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
INCREASE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT DEATHS
According to the ODMP and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), seven police officers and one K9 officer have been killed in the first two weeks of 2019. Five of those deaths have been gun-related while the other three have been categorized as traffic-related.
The NLEOMF reported there were 144 law enforcement deaths across the U.S. in 2018. Overall fatalities increased 12 percent from 2017 (127) with firearms-related fatalities being the leading cause of officer deaths.
Firearms-related fatalities claimed the lives of 52 officers in 2018, a 13 percent increase compared to the 46 officers killed in firearms-related incidents in 2017. Of the 52 officer deaths, 14 occurred while officers were attempting to place an individual under arrest. Eight officers were killed while conducting an investigative activity. Six officers were killed responding to domestic disturbance and public disturbance calls, each totaling 12. Five officers were ambushed in 2018, a 50 percent decrease over 2017. Four officers were shot and killed conducting traffic stops. Two officers were killed while serving warrants and two officers were killed while handling or transporting prisoners. Two officers were inadvertently shot by other law enforcement personnel. One officer was killed while responding to a burglary; one was killed during a tactical situation and one was killed while responding to a call for an armed suicidal suspect.
Handguns were the leading type of firearm used against law enforcement in 2018. Of the 52 officer fatalities, 31 officers were shot and killed with a handgun; four were disarmed and shot with their own duty weapons.
Traffic-related fatalities increased nine percent from 2017 with 50 officer deaths. Of those, 32 officers were killed in crashes. Fourteen officers were struck while outside of their vehicle, a 56 percent increase over the nine officers struck and killed in 2017. Four officers were killed in motorcycle crashes.
Of the 32 vehicle crashes, 16 were single-vehicle crashes, a 14 percent increase over the previous year when 14 officers died in single-vehicle crashes. Seven of those single-vehicle crashes involved officers who were responding to a call for service or as backup to another officer at the time of the crash.
The number of officer deaths from other causes also rose in 2018. Forty-two officers died of causes other than firearms- or traffic-related incidents, a 14 percent increase over the 37 who died in 2017. Job-related illnesses such as heart attacks or strokes were the cause of 18 officer deaths, a 17 percent increase over the 21 who died in 2017. Of those 42 deaths, 15 officers died due to cancers related to search and recovery efforts after the attack on the World Trade Centers on September 11, 2001. Four officers drowned. three were beaten to death and two officers were struck by a train.
Texas, Florida, California and New York had the highest number of officer fatalities with 11 each. North Carolina had seven deaths; South Carolina, Georgia, and Indiana each had five. Two territorial officers and nine federal officers also died in 2018. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia did not lose an officer in 2018.
Of the 2018 fallen officers, 134 were male and 10 were female. The average age was 41 years with an average length of 12 years of service.
“The rising number of law enforcement officer deaths in 2018 is disappointing news after a decline in 2017,” declared National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund CEO Craig W. Floyd. “Sadly this reminds us that public safety is a dangerous job and can come at a very steep price. We must never take the service and sacrifice of law enforcement officers for granted, and we must remember the families of the fallen who are left behind.”
There are currently 21,541 names of officers killed in the line of duty inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, dating back to the first known death in 1791. The deadliest year on record for law enforcement was 1930 when 307 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty. The last time officer fatalities dipped below 100 for a single year was 1944.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The statistics released are based on preliminary data compiled by the NLEOMF and do not represent a final or complete list of individual officers who will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in 2019.
