Deputies arrested for shooting, killing man who refused to get out of car
HARVEY - A pair of sheriff's deputies are facing manslaughter charges for shooting a man who refused to step out of his vehicle after they were called to a Jefferson Parish neighborhood to investigate a noise complaint.
The two deputies, 29-year-old Isaac Hughes and 35-year-old Johnathan Louis, were among five responding to the 911 call Feb. 16 when they confronted Daniel Vallee. Sheriff Joe Lopinto said deputies had surrounded Vallee's vehicle and were shouting at him for about 13 minutes before the shooting.
Sheriff Lopinto said Vallee, 34, reportedly dropped his hands and hit his car horn at some point during the confrontation, causing one of the officers to fire his weapon. A second deputy then fired his gun in response.
Lopinto said Vallee was unarmed but added that he put deputies in a "highly stressful situation."
“The use of force in this situation was not justified,” Sheriff Lopinto said during a news conference. "As much as I would like to defend them.”
Hughes has been with the department for nine years, and Louis has been employed there for a year and a half. Both turned themselves in to face charges.
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The sheriff said Valle was wanted for questioning related to multiple thefts in Plaquemines Parish and an overdose case in Gretna, but that information was not known to deputies at the time.