| id | cleanReleaseDate | troopName | title |
| 766 | 2010-07-03 | Troop A | State Trooper Shot During Traffic Stop on I-10 |
| LOUISIANA STATE POLICE COURTESY LOYALTY SERVICE Colonel Michael D. Edmonson, Superintendent TROOP A- NEWS RELEASE State Trooper Shot During Traffic Stop on I-10 RAMAH- At 12:15 pm on Saturday, July 03, 2010, a Louisiana State Trooper was shot on Interstate 10 near Ramah while conducting a traffic stop. Robert Daniel Armendariz (H/M, 21 years old, from El Paso, TX) was traveling eastbound on the Interstate 10-Atchafalya Basin Bridge near Ramah. A state trooper, who was positioned along the bridge’s shoulder, observed Armendariz’s 2002 white Chevrolet Van exceeding the posted speed limit. The trooper activated his emergency lights and stopped the vehicle at the Ramah exit ramp. The trooper exited his vehicle and asked the driver to do the same. As Armendariz stepped out of his vehicle, he immediately turned towards the trooper and began firing several shots at the trooper with a handgun. As the trooper took cover behind his patrol car, he was struck twice by bullets from Armendariz’s gun. Armendariz then fled the scene westbound on Interstate 10. Troopers from State Police Troop I intercepted the van a short time later on Interstate 10 westbound near Henderson. Armendariz and his passenger, Fabian Cruz Herrera (H/M, 20 years old from Houston, TX) were both taken into custody and booked into the St. Martin Parish jail as a fugitives prior to being booked in Iberville Parish. Armendariz will be charged with one count of Attempted First Degree Murder of a Police Officer. Herrera will be charged with Accessory to Attempted First Degree Murder of a Police Officer. The trooper who was struck by gunfire was treated on the scene by local firefighters and paramedics, and then transported by Acadian Air-Med to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital with non-life threatening injuries to his abdomen and leg. He is currently in stable condition. “The oath that law enforcement officers give to protect the public must never to be taken for granted. In this incident, a traffic stop for a speeding violation quickly turned into a life and death struggle for one of our troopers.” said Colonel Michael Edmonson, State Police Superintendent. “We are thankful that his injuries were not life-threatening. We pray for him and his family as they recover from this incident. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the troopers, deputies, officers and crime scene technicians who responded to the scene of the shooting and assisted in the quick apprehension of the suspects.”
| |||
| No attachments for this article. | |||