‘May Day’ marchers say they want accountability

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    SHREVEPORT, Louisiana (KTBS) — About 100 people in Shreveport marched to the Caddo Correctional Center on Saturday. They called it the ‘may day, may day I can’t breath march’. It was organized by a group called ‘The Peoples Promise’.

“We out here to get justice for the injust. We have 3 in custody deaths which is Tommie McGlothen, Wavey Austin, Anthony Childs, well actually 4 counting Casey Simpson. We are marching to CCC to demand accountability,” said Breka Peoples of ‘Peoples Promise’.

“What we need is an outside investigation by the Department of Justice to help bring some accountability to our police force here in Shreveport,” said Jamar Montgomery of ‘Peoples Promise’.

Here’s some background and context on the names that were just mentioned….

Casey Simpson died in April of this year at the Caddo Correctional Center. The coroner ruled he died of natural causes. There was no evidence of trauma.

Wavey Austin died in April of last year.

SPD responded to a complaint at an apartment complex, Austin was found confused and combative, he was handcuffed for a medical evaluation and became unresponsive, CPR was started he died at the hospital. The Coroner said the cause of death was heart disease. There were no signs of trauma.

Tommie MCGlothen Jr. died in April of 2020.

McGlothen died after fighting with SPD officers. They are accused of beating him with a baton while he was handcuffed. The Coroner ruled the death was by excited delirium but the combination of physical force and delayed medical attention caused his death.

Four SPD officers are pending trial on charges of negligent homicide and malfeasance in office.

Anthony Childs, died in 2019.

He was Involved in an armed confrontation with Shreveport police, ran from officers, pulled out a handgun, shot himself in the chest. The officer also fired shots, three of which hit Childs. The Coroner ruled the death a suicide, saying Childs’ self-inflicted shot was the fatal one. The Caddo DA declined to review the case since there was no evidence to contradict the coroner’s finding.

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