Louisiana Deputy while Off-duty
Lake Charles Police Chief Don Dixon and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso held a press conference yesterday to update the public on the fatal shooting of a Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Deputy early Thursday morning in Lake Charles.
Dixon explained that Deputy Alan Inzer, 37, was driving his personal vehicle north on Ryan Street, with a friend as a passenger, at 1:30 a.m. Thursday morning. The deputy witnessed what seemed to be a burglary about to be committed by three or four black males. Inzer pursued the men in his vehicle as they fled west toward the mall. Inzer exited his vehicle just north of Richard Street and continued the pursuit on foot. His friend, who had called 911 on his cell phone, then got out of the vehicle and after several seconds heard a series of shots. At approximately 1:35 a.m. 911 Emergency received several calls from the Richard Street area reporting shots fired.
Very shortly thereafter a Lake Charles Patrol Officer who was in the area noticed Inzer's friend, and together discovered Deputy Inzer at approximately the 100 block of Richard Street. The deputy was on the ground on his side by a truck that had nothing to do with the incident. Dixon said Acadian Ambulance was monitoring area traffic and arrived very quickly.
Sheriff Mancuso gave a brief background on Deputy Inzer.
“Let me first say, this is certainly a dark day for Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office,” Mancuso said. “Alan and I worked together as deputies at the Sheriff's Office. He worked for me at the Marshall's Office, and of course he came with me when I moved to the Sheriff's Office. He was a tremendous asset to the CPSO, very well trained, a DT instructor and part of the Specialized Marine Division. He was just a great person and a great police officer.”
Dixon commended the tremendous ongoing joint effort of the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Louisiana State Police in assisting with this investigation.
Some evidence has been recovered from the scene including a weapon investigators believe was used in the homicide. Investigators are not releasing any detailed information in terms of evidence they currently have or additional description of the suspects. Dixon said he felt very confident of the professionalism shown by the evidence team while doing a thorough crime scene search.
Rock Palermo with Civil Air Patrol took aerial photos of the crime scene to be used later as evidence.
The crime scene covered a large area stretching from Ryan Street west near the mall, and north several blocks.
“So many police officers are just like Alan Inzer,” said Sheriff Mancuso. “The last person we had shot and killed at the Sheriff's Office, Deputy MacIntosh, basically has the very same scenario. He was off duty. He heard his radio and he responded. That's what policemen do. They're not off duty. They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week for you. That is every policman that's out there. They work their tails off every day, and they're working hard right now. So keep your thoughts and prayers with them and with this family.”
“I assure you we will do everything we can and everything in our legal power to resolve this case,” Dixon said. “This is a tragic day. In addition to Alan Inzer being a law enforcement brother, he was also a personal friend.”
At the time of the press conference, Dixon said there were approximately 60 officers in the field pursuing various leads.
“Don and I have worked very hard through the night to make sure that we've done everything like we do in every homicide,” Mancuso said. “If you recall, not long ago in Sulphur we had a store clerk that was killed. I called on the SPD and the LCPD to come help us. When we have a tragedy like this, whether it's a police officer or whether it's a citizen, we are going to do everything we can to bring to justice the people who deserve to be brought to justice. Yes, this is personal. It hits home. It hurts. It's a little more difficult. But those men and women at the LCPD and every other police department, certainly my department are going to lift their heads up and are going to work even harder for you. If those people are dangerous to policemen, just think what they'd do to you. We are not going to let that happen in our community.”
During the press conference Dixon also made a live plea to those involved in this crime:
“I would openly encourage those individuals that were involved to come forward. We are going to find you. We are going to identify you. Particularly those who were not the shooters, I encourage you to come in now. If you have any opportunity at all to help yourself, now is the time. If you were there, if you were involved, if you were a witness, if you are somebody who has not been contacted by law enforcement that has some type of knowledge, please contact Lake Charles Police Department at 491-1311 or the CPSO at 491-3700. I don't care how minor the information might be. If you saw something. If you heard something. If you saw a car leaving at a high rate of speed. If you saw somebody running in that area at 1:30 a.m. or 1:45 a.m. please call us. it's your duty. It's your obligation.”
