BATON ROUGE — City police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that happened overnight on July 5th, in which a 38-year-old man died after allegedly “holding a sharp object.” Baton Rouge Police have now released more details into the incident along with body camera footage from the two officers who responded that night.
It was around 3:42 a.m. on July 5th when two BRPD officers responded to a call for a disturbance in the 5100 block of Washington Ave. regarding an “emotionally distressed individual, who was suspected to be under the influence of narcotics,” BRPD said.
The two officers who responded, Jordan Spencer and Brandon Triplett, spoke to the family member who had called 911. They were concerned that their family member named Anthony Pursley was allegedly acting violently, may have been under the influence of drugs, and was a potential danger to an 88-year-old woman in the home.
Upon entering the home, officers encountered a 38-year-old man (identified as Anthony Pursley) “holding a sharp object” above his head that has now been identified as a pair of scissors.
The officers tell Pursley to “put the scissors down” multiple times, and the man did not comply with the commands.
According to new information from BRPD, one officer drew a taser and the other drew his gun. That’s when Pursley lunged toward Spencer and Triplett, and the officers fired both the taser and handgun almost simultaneously, BRPD reports.
Officers rendered aid to Pursley, including performing CPR for 8 minutes, but he died at the scene.
Per Baton Rouge PD’s standard procedures for an officer-involved shooting, the two officers involved in this incident have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Per BRPD’s policy, “The taser is not meant to replace deadly force. The taser should not be used in situations when there is a substantial threat to the employee(s) or others, unless there is a second employee present who is prepared to use deadly force.” Per BRPD, although the investigation is still ongoing, their news release says it appears the officers followed policy and their training.
The investigation is still ongoing, and more updates will be released later.
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