Sheriff Newell Normand says there have been 100 cases of where a killer or criminal has been released by the cops even though they admitted to the crime He claims in a bizarre press conference that race has nothing to do with how Ronald Gasser who killed Joe McKnight was treated.
He declined to speak on any of those cases, but I am going to speak on a case of a black man who was in an almost exact situation as Gasser and point out how he was treated differently by cops.
In the May 2013 incident, Roger Batiste, a LaPlace resident, turned himself in to Kenner Police after he shot 27-year-old Shane Vicknair from inside his pickup truck outside an auto shop in Kenner. Batiste, 75 at the time, told police he had shot Vicknair in self-defense during an argument.
According to police and Batiste’s arrest warrant, Batiste said he was in his pickup truck, stuck behind another truck driven by Vicknair in the 4200 block of Connecticut Drive around 10 a.m. on May 4, 2013. After waiting five minutes while Vicknair talked to a friend, Batiste said he asked Vicknair to move.
Incensed, Vicknair exited his truck and approached Batiste’s pickup, cursing and calling him “racial names,” Batiste, who is black, told police. Vicknair then started hitting Batiste inside his pickup, according to a statement Batiste made to police. Batiste told investigators he flashed a gun to convince Vicknair to stop, but he kept on punching and Batiste opened fire.
Gasser’s claims that McKnight came to his window, threatened him and so shot him three times because he was scared. Unlike the incident with Batiste, McKnight never physically put his hands on Gasser. One could argue if someone is assaulting you physically, you have the right to shoot them. Gasser shot McKnight for verbally assaulting him and we don’t even know if that is true, since McKnight can’t tell his side of the story.
Vicknair suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and died. Authorities found surveillance video that showed Vicknair “aggressively” approaching the driver’s side window of Batiste’s truck during the altercation, according to the arrest warrant.
Video evidence backs up Batiste claim that Vicknair assaulted him, where as there is no video or evidence to back up Gasser’s claim on why he feared for his life, besides his statement.
Hours later Batiste surrendered to Kenner police with his lawyer. Unlike Gasser, Batiste was arrested immediately and charged with one count of second-degree murder. He claimed self-defense, and agreed to a plea deal in 2015 that carried a five-year prison sentence for negligent homicide.
Gasser also turned himself and was let go by the cops. Days later he was charged with manslaughter a lesser charge than 2nd degree murder.
The cops are liars, if a black man shoots anyone he is getting arrested immediately. There are no press conferences being held chastising white people for wanting a killer to be arrested. Bail amounts and jail sentences are routinely higher for black offenders even if they commit the same crime.
Batiste did five years in jail for a crime that had video evidence that he was being physically assaulted in a stand your ground state. How many years do you think Gasser will do?
Flip the page to see the Sheriff casually saying N-Bombs like they are part of his regular vocabulary…