Lawyers representing the family of the man shot and killed by a West Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputy in his motel room are asking the feds to step in to investigate.
Nearly two weeks after Josef Richardson was killed his family is still searching for answers.
“The only thing I want is transparency and I want to know the truth on why my
son was murdered,” Richardson’s mother, Maudess Douglas, said.
Lawyers representing the family filed a public information request with the
West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.
We’re going to ask that the sheriff’s office not hide behind the ongoing investigation,”
attorney Ronald Haley said.
By doing so they hope to find out what led to the shooting on July 25th.
“The hurting part [is] I can’t tell my little granddaughters why their father
was murdered,” Richardson’s mother said.
The family’s request to the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office includes more
than two dozen questions they want answered.
“They have all the answers to these 31 questions. we’re going to ask that each
and every one of these questions are answers,” Haley said.
Some of the requests include 9-1-1 tapes from that night, plus body camera
footage and any previous disciplinary complaints against the two officers.
“The problem is that in 2019 as an African American family we still have to seek out answers about how our loved ones died and thats no different than what we would have seen in the 60’s,” Eugene Collins, NAACP’s local president, said.
The family’s lawyers say the only way to ensure a transparent investigation is
to have the department of justice to take over the case.
“We believe that the lack of transparency is telling us that they’re conspiring to conceal the truth,” attorney Benjamin Crump said.
As Richardson’s family gets ready for funeral services they are hoping to get
answers about how their loved one died sooner rather than later.
We reached out to a representative from the Louisiana State Police for a statement this afternoon. See full statement below:
