WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Grand Jury Declines to Indict in George Temple Shooting
Scene of Shooting - February 17, 2006
Scene of Shooting, February 17, 2006A state grand jury Thursday declined to return any indictments in the deadly shooting of Baton Rouge motorist George Temple. On February 17th, a bystander shot and killed Temple as Temple fought with a Baton Rouge police officer during a traffic stop.
Police say Officer Brian Harrison initially stopped Temple for pulling in to a funeral procession. As the officer attempted to give Temple a ticket, Temple allegedly attacked the officer and began beating him with his fists, investigators said. At that point, the bystander, Perry Stephens, fired several shots at Temple.
Temple was shot multiple times, including a wound to the abdomen, from a single shot fired by the police officer, investigators said. An autopsy later determined one of the shots fired by the bystander, which hit Temple in the head, was the shot that killed him.
The state district court grand jury interviewed 12 civilians and several officers before deciding not to indict anyone in the case.
"What we tried to do is identify every witness of which we knew professed to know anything about this and present them to the grand jury so they could have a full view of every perspective that existed from the standpoint of witness statements," said East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Doug Moureau. Moreau's officer did not charge either the officer or the bystander in the case. The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Department, which was initially called in to investigate the shooting, also determined no charges should be filed.
The United States Justice Department, at the urging of several local black leaders, announced last month it would also investigate the case. State Representative Michael Jackson, D-Baton Rouge, is one of the leaders who called for the federal probe. Rep. Jackson said he was not surprised a state grand jury declined to return indictments in the case.
"I think that's why we asked for an independent investigation," Jackson said. "I wish that I could say that I'm surprised, but I'm not. We're going to rely 100% on the Justice Department and their investigation and wait and see what they have to say," Jackson added.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff, speaking to reporters late Thursday, said he credited Stephens with saving his officer's life. "It's time for this city to move forward," LeDuff said.
Reporter: Jim Shannon, WAFB-TV jshannon@wafb.com
WAFB STREETBEAT REPORTER GREG MERIWETHER contributed to this report. gmeriwether@wafb.com
