According to witness statements and evidence, he said, the altercation began on the Crescent City Connection that crosses the Mississippi River, between New Orleans and Terrytown, where the shooting occurred.
Advertisement
Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the arrest of 54-year-old Ronald Gasser, who remained at the scene of Thursday’s fatal shooting and was questioned by police.
Normand was upset over the public outcry that resulted after police released Ronald Gasser without charging him less than 24 hours after he was suspected of gunning down McKnight.
A Tuesday morning news conference giving more details of the disturbing case revealed a different side of Normand, who became inexplicably defensive about the recent criticisms his department faced over its less-than-direct approach in investigating the McKnight case.
“Mr. Gasser never did ask for an attorney”, he said. McKnight was not armed and there was no gun near his body, officials said.
Normand said no gun was found outside either vehicle, but they had not searched the cars and won’t do so until a search warrant has been obtained.
The investigation was delayed because witnesses were reluctant to come forward, Normand said, adding that social media had been used to spread false information and intimidate people. Gasser was charged with battery, although the charge was later dropped. One person they had talked to lied to authorities about what happened, the sheriff said.
Later in the press conference, when Normand finally stepped down from his soapbox and addressed the case, he said that Gasser became irritated when McKnight cut Gasser off in traffic.
According to USA Today the situation with McKnight is the second road rage incident Gasser has been involved in. “Not a single witness to this day said there was one racial slur uttered during the course of these events”.
The argument – allegedly sparked after one of the drivers cut the other off – lasted for several blocks until McKnight pulled over and got out of his vehicle. Sheriff Normand also said the charges were made possible by information from Gasser himself, which they were only able to obtain because they didn’t arrest him at the scene. Normand conceded that it was likely Gasser would use this defense with prosecutors. “We continue in prayer for the McKnight family, Mr. Gasser and the community as we heal following this tragic occurrence”.
He noted that on Thursday, Gasser gave authorities a statement that included him being fearful and defending himself, saying that McKnight had made threatening comments.
At some point, Normand said, McKnight got out of his vehicle and continued the argument while leaning down see eye-to-eye with Gasser, who was in the driver’s seat of an Infiniti sedan.
He said McKnight was driving his stepfather’s auto and that there was a gun belonging to his stepfather inside the vehicle.
Normand explained that when McKnight got out of his auto, Gasser could not drive away. He played a season with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014 and was most recently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. Additionally, the victim saw a “How am I Driving” sticker on the truck that had a number to call if the vehicle was not being operated in a safe manor.
Advertisement
Do you believe the Joe McKnight shooting case has been mishandled?
