HARVEY, La. (WGNO) — On Tuesday morning, officers with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to Harvey where an officer was injured.
The call came in around 10:00 a.m. reporting an officer down near Manhattan Blvd. and the Westbank Expressway. Details were limited until around 11:30 a.m. when Sheriff Lopinto held a press conference to discuss the incident.
According to Lopinto, several officers responded to the call of people running through traffic, begging for money, and blaring music. When officers arrived they made contact with three adults and three juveniles, all from out of state.
“We tried to investigate that, in order to see if there were truancy issues with kids and everything in between, and it became hostile pretty quick,” Sheriff Lopinto explained.
“They said our deputy wasn’t going to do anything, we tried to get one of the guys off the top of a van — he was literally standing on top of the van. Our Sergeant asked him to come down, he refused to come down, Sergeant went up there, during that a struggle ensued, and our deputy fell off the top of that van, hitting his head on back on the cement.”
The Sergeant, a 20-year veteran of the force, went unconscious after the fall. He was transported by ambulance to University Medical Center where he received stitches and is reportedly awake and responsive.
Sheriff Lopinto says all six suspects (three adults and three juveniles) were apprehended on the scene. No additional information is available on the suspects.
WGNO will update this story as more details become available.