Police: Man fatally shot tried to run, fought with officer

BATON ROUGE, La. — A man killed by a Baton Rouge police officer had tried to run when confronted during a child abuse investigation, fought with the officer and kept resisting after being shot, authorities said Tuesday.

The Louisiana State Police said 24-year-old Calvin Toney “attempted to flee on foot” when a state child welfare caseworker and the city officer showed up Monday evening at an apartment complex and had a “lengthy struggle” with the officer, who used a stun gun on Toney multiple times.

“After being shot, Toney fled and was later taken into custody by the officer. While taking Toney into custody, he remained non-compliant and was placed into handcuffs for safety reasons,” the state police said in a statement from Senior Trooper Bryan Lee.

Toney was alert and receiving medical attention from police when paramedics arrived, and his handcuffs were then removed, Lee said.

Toney died of a single gunshot wound to the chest, according to the local coroner’s office, which released preliminary results of an autopsy performed Tuesday.

The officer, who has not been identified, suffered minor injuries, Lee said.

The shooting remains under investigation by the state police. Footage from the officer’s body camera and surveillance video from the apartment complex were being reviewed Tuesday by the state police, who said investigators also continued questioning witnesses. None of the video footage was released to the public.

The shooting of Toney, a black man, drew a crowd of angry neighbors Monday night at the apartment complex in north Baton Rouge, a city that was wracked by unrest after a police shooting last year.