Louisiana officers will not face charges in death of limp, cuffed Black man they face-planted on concrete

Police in Bogalusa, Louisiana — who tased then left a Black man limp and handcuffed on the pavement outside the station while awaiting emergency help — will not be charged for their roles in his death.

Deputies found that Eric Nelson, 28, had outstanding warrants for drug crimes while responding to a single-vehicle collision on the morning of Dec. 19, 2021. According to a federal court lawsuit, an officer drove Nelson home to change shoes before taking him to jail. He allegedly sprinted into the woods, the suit says, and dove into the undergrowth before being tased by authorities and placed into custody, NOLA.com reported.

Warren Montgomery, the district attorney for Washington Parish, announced in a press release that a grand jury was convened on Jan. 17 to hear the case. Court documents indicate the panel did not take any action.

Montgomery referred to Nelson’s death as “a tragedy” and offered condolences to his family.

Nelson reportedly complained of being exhausted and out of breath on the way to jail, according to the initial report from Louisiana State Police.

Cameras outside the Bogalusa police station capture two police SUVs pulling up as a man wearing plain clothes leaves the facility. He eventually yanks Nelson violently out of one of the vehicles’ back seats, and he lands on his bound hands at the man’s feet. 

Nelson appears to be unresponsive after hitting his head on the concrete. There he remains until the man in plain clothes and an officer drag him to the building door in front of the police car.

As police waited for emergency medical staff, the security video showed several cops standing around as Nelson lay motionless and cuffed on the sidewalk for five minutes. Northshore EMS documents included in the lawsuit claimed that when medical personnel arrived, Nelson was handcuffed, lying on the ground unconscious and gasping for air.

Bogalusa authorities said he “suffered no trauma upon arrest” and “collapsed while being walked from the patrol car to jail,” according to NOLA.com.

Nelson died more than a year before Montgomery’s decision not to press charges against the police. According to Shawn Smith, a district attorney’s office spokeswoman, independent research by their office — including engaging the Jefferson Parish coroner to evaluate the autopsy and having it presented before the grand jury — caused the process to take longer than expected.

Police procedural experts have questioned the officers’ behavior shown in the surveillance video. Some have said Nelson might have survived the confrontation if cops had responded to his injuries more quickly. 

Since then, locals have started showing up at Bogalusa city council sessions to voice their displeasure with the investigation into Nelson’s death, citing what some have described as a history of distrust between the public and the police. The city’s new Democratic mayor, 23-year-old Tyrin Truong, has also asked Police Chief Kendall Bullen to step down.

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