BATON ROUGE – East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome broke her silence Friday related to the deadly officer-involved shooting earlier in the week.

A statement released at 6 p.m. Friday was the first message the mayor's had on the shooting.

The mayor's remarks focused on police body cameras, a program she said will eventually lead to more transparency. State Police said earlier Friday, the man killed had pointed a gun at officers who then shot the suspect.

“As I promised upon taking office, every Baton Rouge police officer will be equipped with a body camera to protect both our police and our citizenry. The appropriation has been approved by the Metro Council and no longer will we have to wonder, should such instances occur again — which I hope and pray they do not — what actually happened,” the mayor said in the statement.

A contract for police body cameras should be finalized in the next two weeks, the mayor said, who promised officers will be taught how to use them.

“This is one of the steps in reforming and upgrading our police force and its personnel,” she said.

State Police are handling the investigation into the shooting, which is standard. Click HERE to read more.  

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