A Baton Rouge man, Raheem Howard, has been cleared of charges of attempted murder of a police officer during a traffic stop. Matt Doyle has the story.
_____________________________________________
Tropical Storm Gordon spared Louisiana, but state climatologist Barry Keim says this is no time to think hurricane season is over. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 2 (25) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”
A Baton Rouge man who’d been accused of attempted murder of a police officer during a traffic stop last month has had his charges dropped by the DA. The officer says while retreating, 21-year-old Raheem Howard fired at him, but the DA says there’s just not enough evidence to back that up. Howard’s lawyer, Ron Haley, says it’s a troubling incident that needs further investigation.
Hamadeh fatally shot another man during during a traffic stop in 2017. No video evidence exists of that incident.
Officer Yuseff Hamadeh initiated the traffic stop on August 7th over a missing license plate. During the stop Howard fled the scene and was pursued, at which point the Hamadeh says he was shot at, which prompted the officer to open fire. But Haley says it’s obvious at this point that Howard never shot at the officer during the chase.
District Attorney Hillar Moore says after searching the ground for additional bullet casings and questioning witnesses, they determined there was insufficient evidence to maintain Hamadeh’s version of events.
BRPD says they plan on releasing audio from the night, but the delay has rankled some community leaders who are concerned about the slow pace at which the department has released evidence, despite post-Alton Sterling claims of an expedited process. Haley says the department is in need of additional reforms.
Neither Howard nor Officer Hamadeh were injured in the incident. Howard is being held in jail on other warrants.
______________________________________
Tropical Storm Gordon had little effect on Louisiana. The storm made landfall last night near the Alabama-Mississippi line. State Climatologist Barry Keim says when it comes to monitoring the weather, better safe than sorry.
Cut 6 (07) “…was an overreaction.”
Keim says Louisiana was spared from more serious effects from Gordon due to two factors. As it came into shore, it was further east in the cone of uncertainty, and it wasn’t as fierce as some had projected the storm to be.
Cut 7 (08) “…being a hurricane.”
Keim says portions of the state will still see much needed rainfall.
Cut 8 (08) “…today and tomorrow.”
_______________________________________
A conference committee began discussions on a new Farm Bill today on Capitol Hill, with Republicans pushing for major reforms to food stamp eligibility. Congressman Ralph Abraham from Richland Parish is on the committee and he supports a work or educational requirement for an able bodied adult to be eligible for SNAP. Abraham says employers are desperate for labor, and this is a good step towards pushing the unemployed into the workforce.
But many of those seven million job openings are minimum to low wage jobs that likely are dissuading the unemployed from joining the workforce. Abraham says a key part of the reform is finding ways to get people jobs that pay enough to get them off the dole.
Abraham says part of the food stamp reform effort is a push to provide additional financial support for SNAP beneficiaries who want to pursue job training or advance their education.
_______________________________________
LSU’s impressive win over Miami and big move up the rankings has resulted in an increase in sales for LSU merchandise. Owner of the Purple and Gold Sports Shop, Pat Randazza, says winning on the football field always brings in more foot traffic
Randazza says men’s polo shirts and tank tops for women are big sellers heading into Saturday’s home opener against Southeastern Louisiana.
Expectations were not as high heading into this season among the LSU fan base. But the Tigers showed something in their victory in Dallas over the Hurricanes. Randaazza expects an uptick in sales for at least the next couple of weeks…