The New Orleans Police Department recently made public body camera footage of a September officer-involved shooting on Bienville Street in Mid-City, providing new details on an incident that has initiated an ongoing administrative investigation. The footage, released today, captures the tense moments leading to the shooting of 29-year-old suspect Justin Martin during a reported domestic disturbance, as reported by WGNO.
According to the NOPD, officers arrived at the 3200 block of Bienville Street around 11 p.m. on Sept. 8 to quickly find themselves confronting Martin, alleged to have brandished a firearm. NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick stated that responding officers had ordered Martin to drop his gun, which he is said to have refused to do, resulting in an exchange of gunfire. Martin was subsequently wounded, disarmed, and provided medical aid before being transported to a hospital by EMS, as mentioned in a statement obtained by WDSU.
Post-shooting, Justin Martin now faces multiple charges which include domestic battery, aggravated assault on a peace officer, and resisting arrest. Further scrutiny by the Public Integrity Bureau's Force Investigation Team led to an upgrade in charges, adding two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer, and battery on a dating partner with strangulation to the list, as per the same WDSU report.
Further complicating matters, amidst an administrative investigation that remains to be ongoing, is the transparency and implications such footage holds for both the NOPD and community relations. Superintendent Kirkpatrick confirmed that no officers were injured in the incident and that the administrative investigation into the officers involved in the shooting is still in process, thus seeking to provide an accurate account of the events that occurred that September evening. More information is expected as the investigation progresses.
