New details emerge in Joe McKnight shooting and release of shooter

After hearing criticisms of his office for releasing the man who admitted to shooting former NFL running back Joe McKnight, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand held a press conference to reveal some details of the case, including that the man who shot McKnight was in his car when he fired all three shots.

McKnight was shot and killed on Thursday afternoon in New Orleans. Authorities said that Ronald Gasser, 54, shot McKnight. Gasser was released overnight, and a JPSO spokesman told the Baton Rouge Advocate he wasn’t charged “as of yet.” Gasser reportedly stayed at the scene and gave his gun to police when they arrived. A report from the New Orleans Times-Picayune, said a witness “saw a man at the intersection yelling at McKnight, who was trying to apologize.” The witness also told the Times-Picayune that Gasser stood over McKnight and shot him.

Normand said that wasn’t true. He specifically discounted three things he said he has seen reported.

Normand, who said the incident “started as road rage,” said all three casings from bullets fired by Gasser were found in his car. He said that Gasser fired all the shots from inside his car, and never stood over McKnight.

“That did not happen,” Normand said in his press conference, which was broadcast live by NOLA.com. “That witness account – and we talked to that witness, if it’s the same one I’m talking about – is factually incorrect. It did not happen.”

Normand said there is no video of the incident that he is aware of.

He also said there was no account of McKnight trying to apologize to Gasser.

“We have no witness account of an apology being made by Mr. McKnight to Mr. Gasser. So that did not occur,” Normand said.

The fact that Gasser was released led to criticism and outrage. Normand declined to give the specific reasons Gasser was released without being charged.

“We’re not going to reveal at this point in time any of the details of this investigation,” Normand said. “Why? There are still witnesses we’re looking for. I don’t want to be accused of tainting this investigation or suggesting a story about this investigation to witnesses we have not located and talked to. Simply put, that is the appropriate thing to do.”

Because Gasser is white, and McKnight was black, many have wondered if race played into Gasser being released without being charged. When former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith was shot and killed earlier this year, the man who shot him, Cardell Hayes, was arrested and put in jail. Hayes is black, as was Smith. Hayes has been in jail awaiting trial since then after a judge set a $1.75 million bond according to the Times-Picayune. Hayes has pleaded not guilty.

Normand addressed the race concern and said Gasser being released was not related to his race.

“The easiest thing for me would have been ‘Book ’em, Danno.’ Right?” Normand said. “The fact of the matter is, in trying to flush out these details as it relates to all of this and not having that rush to judgment and doing this in a very deliberate and appropriate fashion, we chose not to do that. Of course, where that leaves us at this point in time is that everybody wants to make this about race. This isn’t about race.

“Mr. Gasser is not going anywhere,” Normand said. “He has been completely cooperative with us with every request we’ve made. That’s not the issue. Simply, the issue at the end of the day is that we’ll do a very thorough investigation.”

Normand also addressed a possible protest on the Westbank Expressway in New Orleans saying anyone obstructing traffic would be put in jail.

“You have every right to peacefully demonstrate on the property between the fence and the highway, but you will not be allowed to obstruct the safety and security of the traveling public in Jefferson Parish,” Normand said.

Normand said the man who raised McKnight was a deputy in the JPSO, so there are members of his office who are close to McKnight’s family. McKnight, who starred in college at USC before playing in the NFL, was raised in New Orleans. Normand said often his office is committed to a fair and thorough investigation.

One of McKnight’s relatives told the New Orleans Times-Picayune she was unhappy that Gasser was released without being charged.

“It’s got me sick to my stomach,” Shantell Dobard, identified by the Times-Picayune as one of McKnight’s relatives, said. “I’m just disappointed how they just let him go free after he shot to death an unarmed man. The system is so screwed up.”

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!