By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
CALCASIEU PARISH, La. — A deputy was being kidnapped when he pulled his gun and shot the driver on Interstate 10 in southwest Louisiana, according to investigators.
The deputy and suspect survived the resulting car crash, but both were hospitalized, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office reported in a news release.
It happened around 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 7, during a traffic stop near Lake Charles, about a 205-mile drive west from New Orleans.
Investigators say the trouble started when a search of the vehicle revealed “illegal narcotics.”
“While the deputy was still inside the vehicle, the suspect entered the driver’s side and drove off, fleeing the scene with the deputy still inside, kidnapping the deputy,” officials said.
“The deputy made verbal commands for the suspect to stop, and he did not comply, at which time the deputy fired his weapon, hitting the suspect. The vehicle crashed.”
Identities of the driver and deputy, and details of their injuries have not been released as of March 8.
The driver is facing drug charges, along with “attempted (first-)degree murder of a deputy, and the kidnapping of the deputy,” officials said.
Louisiana State Police will lead a separate investigation into the shooting of the suspect, officials said.
Investigators did not say why the vehicle was pulled over, but noted the traffic stop was initiated with the Combined Anti-Drug Task Force.
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