Family members, Baton Rouge residents and LSU students gathered in front of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office on Sunday for a candlelight vigil honoring Deaughn Willis, a 25-year-old Black Baton Rouge resident shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy on Jan. 8.
“When I wake up in the middle of the night crying about my son and have to be comforted by my husband—hallelujah,” said Trinelle Willis, mother of Deaughn. “I hope to get joy again. Hallelujah. I will not be depressed. Hallelujah. I will walk in victory. My family will get the victory in the name of Jesus.”
The microphone shook in the grieving mother’s hand as she fell to her knees and in front of the crowd of protestors.
The body cam footage for the incident has not been released. According to the EBR Sheriff’s Office, this is still an active investigation.
Police say officers came to the Deaughn family’s door with a warrant in search of a kidnapping victim and to arrest Deaughn’s twin brother, Keaughn, for alleged third-degree rape, sexual battery, kidnapping and domestic abuse battery of a pregnant victim, according to The Advocate.
Deaughn allegedly answered the door with a gun, and a sheriff’s deputy shot him.
Deaughn’s mother, Trinelle Willis, is a nurse and attempted to provide medical aid to her son, yet she said the officers would not let her aid her son.
“I will not be quiet,” Trinelle said. “I will not sit down. I will not shut up. I will be a voice for my son. He cannot speak for himself right now, but I will be strong enough to speak for him.”
Trinelle’s husband, Leonard Wilson, held her as she spoke.
“[Deaughn] was a great child, and this devil came to our home, knocked on our door,” Wilson said. “I asked ‘who is it?’ two times. Nobody said nothing.”
Protestors held up their phone flashlights during the windy night. The event included a performance of a song called “Black Lives Matter,” several group prayers, speakers and marching.
Eugene Collins, president of the Baton Rouge NAACP, spoke at the event.
This is another example of a “bad police officer being moved from region to region” after the officer was relocated from Thibodaux, Collins said.
“Usually, we say it was a training issue, but this was a marine—a scout sniper. He was supposed to be cool, calm and collected, but instead, when he got to the door and saw a young black man, he automatically attributed that to fear,” Collins said. “If you scared, take your scary ass home. This ain’t the job for you.”
Collins said Trinelle hid in the apartment dialing 9-1-1, not knowing who was banging on her door. The recording of that call has also not been released.
“Whether [Deaughn] came to the door with a gun or not, if you bang on my door like that in the morning, I’m coming with a gun, and that’s if I don’t shoot through it,” Collins said. “That’s the reality. Those officers bangin’ on that door that day like they pay bills.”
Religious studies and history sophomore Lauren Pete attended the vigil and believes it’s important for LSU students to be active within the Baton Rouge community. Pete said the organizers of the vigil were proud that college students chose to take part in political advocacy.
“This is something that happened in Baton Rouge, not far from campus,” Pete said. “Not far from the homes of many in-state students, so it’s not something that we can just turn a blind eye to.”
Pete believes transparency is the way to fix future police killings. The police department has not reached out to Trinelle, and she has gotten no closure, said Pete. She believes the department has been silent because they know they are in the wrong.
“I think the first thing to fix these atrocities and to fix this issue is transparency—coming clean,” Pete said. “Releasing the tapes, releasing the names, just not sweeping anything under the rug.”
Political science sophomore Jonathan Savoy believes it is the duty of LSU students to participate in political advocacy. He is advocating for the release of the body camera footage and the release of the names of the officers involved.
“If we want our sons and daughters to grow up in a world where their friends and family can be killed with little to no consequences—that’s just not the world I want to live in,” Savoy said. “It’s not the Louisiana that I want to see. As students, it’s our responsibility to advocate for police accountability.”
Protestors watch speaker at the EBR sheriff's office on Sunday.
