City council gets earful on how LPD handled confrontation at ‘Hands Off’ rally
Organizers, witnesses say police blew them off after releasing a man who brought out an assault-style gun after confrontation with demonstrators at the 50501 Movement event
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LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL GETS EARFUL ON HOW LPD HANDLED CONFRONTATION AT ‘HANDS OFF’ RALLY
Organizers and participants of a “Hands Off” protest in downtown Lafayette Saturday accused the Lafayette Police Department of blowing off their accounts of what happened on the scene when a driver got out of his truck to confront demonstrators and for letting the man go after he eventually stalked through the crowd carrying an assault-style weapon.
“What happened that day was frightening, but what happened afterward was infuriating,” Erika Allen, who was a safety marshal for the 50501 Movement event Saturday afternoon, told Lafayette City Council members Monday evening.
Allen told city council members that she’d been on the phone with 911 dispatchers when James Jordan, 43, of Lafayette, grabbed a rifle from his truck after he’d been head-butted as he bumped his way into the crowd at Third and Columbia streets. Allen told them that she’d helped de-escalate the situation and helped get Jordan aimed back to the truck he’d left running in the street – something bystander video from various angles confirm.
“When officers arrived, I did everything I could to provide accurate, urgent information,” Allen told city council members. “I offered to give a full statement three times with three different officers. I was told, We don't need to speak with you. An officer finally approached me, only after I insisted. But instead of listening, he cut me off and said, ‘I have a hard time believing your story. The street cam says the opposite.’ He then told me, ‘What you're saying never happened,’ and walked away.”
Initial word from officers on the scene and then in a release from Lafayette Police Department reported that officers had temporarily detained Jordan, who was wearing a Trump-branded hoodie and a Make America Great Again hat. They reported that, based on city security cameras at and near the intersection, they’d determined Jordan had retrieved his gun as a means of self-defense and hadn’t pointed the gun at anyone and so didn’t commit a crime. Police released Jordan shortly after that a few blocks away.
By Sunday, Lafayette police recast things, indicating that the case remained open, after video shot up close and eye-witness accounts suggested a different scenario about the encounters between Jordan and those in a crowd that organizers say was more than 800 people.
LPD acknowledged Sunday that “the presence of a firearm in a tense, crowded public space understandably caused alarm among community members.” Police set up a site for people to submit video evidence of what happened.
As of Monday evening, LPD Chief Scott Galloway said police had received 75 video clips since Sunday.
Video footage offered to Based in Lafayette from witnesses showed Jordan leave his truck on the street to go chest-to-chest with several demonstrators, his hands in the air as he argued face-to-face with people at the corner about marchers using the crosswalk blocked him from making a turn from Columbia Street to Third Street. After he was shoved back by demonstrators, Jeremy Marks, 36, of Lafayette, can be seen head-butting Jordan in the face.
Marks was arrested at his home later Saturday and spent a night in jail on suspicion of battery resulting in bodily injury. Marks later told Based in Lafayette that he’d “lost it” when he said Jordan pushed into an older woman at the corner.
Video shared with Based in Lafayette shows that initial confrontation followed by scenes of Jordan retrieving a pistol resembling an assault-style rifle from his truck and walking and bumping his way through a crowd of hundreds gathered for a rally along sidewalks outside the Tippecanoe County Courthouse before being turned back to his truck. Jordan put the weapon back in the truck, but returned to argue with others, including appearing to snatch one man’s phone.
Allen and others came Monday to the city council meeting to ask why police weren’t there from the start and for assurances for the next time. They accused police of taking the word of the man who’d grabbed a gun over those who felt threatened. They asked about at what point Jordan’s actions stopped being self-defense, when he could have left the scene.
“I'm here to ask you, what message does this send to your constituents that their safety doesn't matter, that eyewitnesses will be silenced if the narrative is inconvenient, that you can be threatened at gunpoint and the people sworn to protect you will call you a liar?” Allen asked.
“I expect better,” Luke McConville, a Harrison High School teacher who attended the rally, told city council members. “Take into very serious consideration the fear that has been instilled in this community to ensure that all citizens feel safe to exercise their First Amendment rights without fear of armed intimidation.”
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Stacy Bogan, one of the organizers of the 50501 Movement event, said the organization was not able to secure a permit for the courthouse grounds, because no company would offer event insurance, she was told, for a political event. She said she’d been advised by the county commissioners’ office to stick to sidewalks. She said she’d let the sheriff’s department and police department know that the event was happening.
Jordan has not responded for comment since Saturday.
Jessica Jordan, his wife who riding in the passenger seat of the truck, said in social media posts over the weekend that they were playing “Trump-loving music” as they rolled past the demonstration at the courthouse. Earlier in the week, she’d posted on social media, encouraging Lafayette conservatives to come to the rally and that “it’s our time to shine.” She further defended her husband in a post on NextDoor Monday.
“Why did we have a gun?” Jessica Jordan asked. “Well because it's our 2nd Amendment right to do so and we ALWAYS have one with us. Always. Yes he got out of the truck AFTER the light turned green and five crossing guards joined hands and blocked the road. Yes, he was screaming. It wasn't until someone from the ‘peaceful protest’ … decided to ambush him.”
Monday evening, Galloway met briefly with several people who spoke at the city council meeting.
Did he consider the criticism about how his department performed that day fair?
“It’s a chaotic moment,” Galloway said. “Any of those things are when we’re going into a situation with a man with a gun. Our priority is scene safety, identifying the person that’s the threat and eliminating that threat in a way that we can then do an investigation. And that happened.”
Galloway said LPD reassessed the information it still needed after the demonstration ended.
“We knew cellphone video was going to be coming in,” Galloway said. “I’d say we had decent camera footage, but it can always be better when it’s on the ground. So, we knew we had to gather those things.”
He said LPD was looking to interview Jordan, as well as others who were at the scene. He didn’t have a timeline of when investigation results would be shared with the Tippecanoe County prosecutor, who would make the call on what, if any, charges are filed in the case.
“We thank the public for their cooperation in forwarding information, including video, to not only our office but the Lafayette Police Department,” Harrington said in a release Monday. “The police investigation is ongoing, and when completed we will meet with LPD to review the evidence.”
Galloway said that even though crowds were larger than first expected, “I think that’s on us to make sure we’re anticipating those things better in the future.”
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That beeping sound you hear is City Hall and the police chief backpedaling on the poor performance by police officers at the rally. I'm really disappointed in our leadership. Self defense? Want to protect yourself from potential harm? Get back in your truck and drive away. Don't go get an assault rifle and start intimidating people.
James and Jessica appear to live on W 300 S, Lafayette. Why take a Saturday afternoon drive through downtown Lafayette with a megaphone, a gun and "trump loving music" playing?