Body & dashcam footage of officer-involved shooting death of Joseph Taylor released by State Police
By: Louisiana State Police has now released bodycam footage from the officer-involved shooting death of Joseph Taylor, 33.
Taylor was killed during an officer-involved shooting with the Shreveport Police Department back on April 23. It happened near the intersection of Mansfield Road and Valleyview Drive. LSP says Taylor was armed with a handgun when he got into a struggle with three officers.
After Taylor’s death, a number of protests were held outside SPD headquarters and at Government Plaza. Friends and family of Taylor have called for the mayor and police chief to resign, and for the Department of Justice to investigate.
The bodycam footage from the night of Taylor’s death was released Wednesday, May 10.
On Sunday, April 23 at 9:45 p.m., SPD requested for LSP to investigate the incident.
The initial investigation revealed that Officer Anthony Visciotti initiated a traffic stop on a blue 1994 Chevrolet Caprice for improper lane usage. The driver was later identified as Joseph Dwayne Taylor.
According to LSP, during Visciotti and Taylor’s interaction, Taylor became uncooperative and failed to comply with lawful orders to exit the vehicle.
At 9:33 p.m., Officer Terri Simmons and Sgt. Daniel Denby arrived on the scene. LSP’s investigation shows Taylor physically resisted when officers tried to take him out of the vehicle, and there was a struggle.
As Taylor was being taken to the ground, officers say they saw an object in his right hand. Visciotti deployed his taser, which was ineffective.
LSP says officers became aware Taylor was armed with a gun when they tried to remove his hands from under his body. The investigation states when Taylor began to push his body up from the ground, officers backed away and Visciotti fired several rounds from his service weapon.
LSP says the gun in Taylor’s hand was later identified as a Glock 19, 9 mm with an extended magazine and a modification switch, making the gun fully automatic.
Taylor was taken to Ochsner LSU Shreveport and pronounced dead.
The scene was processed by LSP Crime Scene Technicians. LSP says additional information will be released, including video evidence, in coordination with the Caddo DA’s office.
Denby, Simmons, and Visciotti were placed on paid administrative leave immediately following the shooting. An investigation of the incident is still active and ongoing.