METAIRIE, La. (WVUE) - An attempted traffic stop of a suspected drunken driver in Metairie led to a pursuit and a deputy-involved shooting, ultimately resulting in the arrest of a 31-year-old woman.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office says the chaos began around 9:36 p.m. on Sunday (Dec. 10) when a car being driven by Desiree Mallery was speeding in the 3400 block of Houma Boulevard.
Deputies attempted to stop her vehicle, but Mallery refused to stop and a high-speed chase ensued.
Sheriff Joe Lopinto says Mallery intentionally rammed her vehicle into multiple JPSO units. The sheriff’s office did not say if any deputies were in their units at the time of the collisions, but did not report any deputy injuries.
During the chase, a JPSO deputy reportedly fired his weapon multiple times. No one in the vehicle was injured.
Mallery’s vehicle crashed into a curb and came to a stop near the intersection of Cleary Avenue and Veterans Boulevard. Viewer video and crime scene tape suggest the crash was near the Taco Bell along Veterans Boulevard.
Following Mallery’s apprehension, deputies found four unrestrained children inside the vehicle. All four were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. No injuries were reported, Sheriff Lopinto says.
The sheriff’s office declined to comment on what the deputy was shooting at or if he knew there were children in the car.
Fox 8 Legal Analyst Joe Raspanti says those facts are important in weighing what happened.
“Why did they need to use that level of deadly force? And the question is; were they in danger? Should they have perceived a deadly force threat or a great bodily harm threat to themselves as policemen?” Raspanti said. “That is what usually is looked at to allow them to be able to use that type of deadly force.”
He says firing a gun in a populated area will be under scrutiny.
“If you have a body cam, even that’s not totally definitive, because what happened before the body cam, what happened after the body cam, and what happened outside the frame, that’s going to be part of what this is. Whenever you’re firing a gun in a populated area, you better have a very good reason to do it,” Raspanti said.
The sheriff’s office says it will be interviewing a deputy involved as part of the ongoing investigation.
FOX 8 has submitted a records request for the incident report and other records surrounding the case. The sheriff’s office informed FOX 8 on Monday the incident report is not yet complete, while the other records are not available because of the ongoing investigation.
Mallery was booked into jail on a myriad of charges; operating a vehicle while intoxicated, reckless operation of a vehicle, aggravated flight from an officer in a motor vehicle, aggravated obstruction of a roadway, aggravated criminal damage, resisting an officer, driving while under suspension, and cruelty to a juvenile, along with multiple traffic offenses.
Neither Jefferson nor Orleans Parish court records show any prior criminal offenses for Mallery.
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