Eight officers with the Shreveport Police Department have been indicted on felony charges by a grand jury for allegedly assaulting two men during a traffic stop in January. The officers were each charged with one count of malfeasance in office. The indicted officers are Aaron Jaudon, D'Andre Jackson, Mark Ordoyne, William Isenhour, Christopher McConnell, Brandon Walker, Treveion Brooks, and David Francis.

The incident occurred on January 24 when the officers tried to pull over two men in a truck for driving without a seatbelt. The driver, Chico Bell, refused to stop and started throwing items out of the window as he fled.

After a brief chase, Bell pulled over and put his hands out of the window to surrender, as did the passenger, Damon Robinson. Officers approached the truck and ripped Bell out of the vehicle through the window. While he was on the ground, the officers "began striking, kicking, and tasing him."

Robinson was punched in the face through the open window while he sat in the truck. Once Robinson was on the ground, an officer smacked him with a flashlight, even though his hands were behind his back.

Robinson suffered a broken nose, while Bell had a fractured orbital bone along with other injuries.

Bell was arrested on charges of aggravated flight from police, possession of drugs and possession of drugs with intent to distribute, while Robinson was charged with resisting arrest. Charges against both men were dropped after investigators reviewed the dashcam video from the arrest.

McConnell was fired on May 8, while Ordoyne resigned on June 17. The other six officers remain on administrative leave.

Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins applauded the indictment and vowed to continue his efforts to reform the police department.

"The nation is going through a reckoning because, in the past, officers were too infrequently held accountable for bad policing," Perkins said. "While it isn't pretty, this is the change citizens are demanding. My administration has identified funding for body cameras and expects to have them by the end of the summer. We are also analyzing existing funds to start a crisis intervention program that will allow counselors to help address emergency mental health calls. Reform takes work, but I am committed to that work."

Photo: Caddo Sheriff's Office

Brett 'Bside' Matthews

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