On Friday night, Trayford Pellerin, 31, died as a result of a gunshot wound by forces from the Lafayette Police Department. The United States lived a summer marked by the death of George Floyd and the demonstrations against racism and the police violence which engulfed the country. It is in this context that the Louisiana Police opened an investigation into the circumstances of the death of the young man, “an active investigation in progress”, specified the police to our colleagues at CNN.
The circumstances of the death
It was on Friday night that Trayford Pellerin was shot. At around 8 p.m., law enforcement was called near a grocery store, where a man was reportedly seen walking with a knife in his hand, according to the Louisiana state police report, CNN reported.
Also according to the police report, while the police attempted to apprehend Trayford Pellerin, he fled on foot, followed by the officer. The latter would have tried to control the man with a taser but the weapon would not have worked, explains CNN.
It was after this that the police allegedly fired. Trayford Pellerin was then taken to the emergency room, where he was pronounced dead.
Explosive background
On May 25, a nearly 9-minute video showed the slow agony of George Floyd, 46, under the weight of a police officer, in Houston, Texas. The video sparked outrage in the United States and around the world, where protests against police violence and racism erupted.
►►► Read also: portrait of George Floyd, the one who dreamed of becoming a Supreme Court justice, died below the knee of a policeman
It is in this context that the death of Trayford Pellerin occurs. Benjamin Crump, a civil rights attorney who also represents the family of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor told our colleagues at CNN: “We refuse to see this case resolved like so many others, in silence and without answers or justice”. And add, “the victim’s family and the citizens of Lafayette deserve honesty and responsibility from those who are supposed to protect them: the Lafayette police“.
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