Family of man killed by West Baton Rouge deputy speaks out

PORT ALLEN, La. (WAFB) - The family of a Port Allen man who was shot and killed in a deputy-involved shooting spoke publicly for the first time since the incident at a news conference organized by the NAACP on July 31.

The man killed was identified by a family member as Josef Richardson, 38.

Richardson’s mother, daughter, brother, sister, and other family members spoke out about his death during the news conference. Several attorneys, including one representing Richardson’s girlfriend who as at the motel at the time of his death, also spoke.

“My dad was known by a lot of people… How many more black people have to cry every night because their family member is gone. I have to cry every night. I was there the day before he was killed,“ Richardson’s daughter said. “I don’t want my dad to be an unsolved crime,” she added.

“It’s not alright. All we want is justice. We are not a violent family and we don’t want anything to get violent,”Dorian Richardson, Josef Richardson’s sister said.

The family is carrying around memories of Richardson that will never be replaced. His mother, Maudess Sandra Douglas, says she talked to her son the day before he died. They were supposed to meet up the next day.

“I never got to see him and I never got my birthday present,” she said.

Richardson’s children are holding onto his last days before he left with no warning.

“He got to tell us all goodbye before he was gone, and if there was anything I could do, I would go back in time and take it to where they couldn’t do anything wrong to him,” his daughter, Ja’kera, said.

His family wore royal blue in solidarity. They’re calling for transparency from Louisiana State Police, the agency leading the investigation.

“If this was the police officer’s family, if he were the one killed, if his family was the one crying, they would want everyone to fight for justice, but it’s different when it’s a black man,” his daughter said.

Richardson left behind four children.

RELATED: NAACP says it will support seeking ‘transparency and answers’ after deputy-involved shooting

Autopsy results released by the West Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office show the man killed by a West Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputy on Thursday, July 25 died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The coroner’s office says the bullet severed part of the man’s spine.

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