Melvin Leblanc, 53

Crowley, Louisiana
August 11, 2014

Agencies: Louisiana State Police | Crowley Police Department Louisiana

Cause of death: Shooting

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Last updated: over 5 years ago

Overview

A suicidal man was shot "execution style" in the back of the head by police officers whose body cameras had allegedly been turned off, the man's widow claims in a federal lawsuit.
     Police claimed they fired at Melvin LeBlanc after hearing a shot, but LeBlanc's gun was later found to have been unloaded, according to the lawsuit filed this week in the Lafayette. La. Federal Court.
     In the lawsuit the dead man's widow, Amy LeBlanc, says that on March 11, 2014, officers David Melancon and Dwayne Schexnider answered a call from Melvin LeBlanc's roommates, who claimed he was acting irrationally and speaking of hurting himself.
     Melancon and Schexnider arrived to Melvin LeBlanc's home, engaged their video equipment and entered the house, according to the complaint.
     The officers located a loaded gun, separated the bullets from the gun and gave the bullets to LeBlanc's roommates, who were told to hide them.
     The officers returned later in response to a second call from LeBlanc's roommates who reported that their friend's irrational behavior and suicidal talk was escalating.
     "All officers disengaged their body cams and dash cams or in the alternative the video recordings were not properly preserved," the lawsuit states. "Although there were four units on the scene there is no video or audio recording of the incident."