‘My son is gone now;’ Family grieves man shot dead by JPSO deputies after refusing to get out of car

MARRERO, La. (WVUE) - Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies shot and killed a suspect early Wednesday (Feb. 16), after the man refused to get out of a vehicle and instead started its engine while facing the lawmen, the agency said.

The incident occurred around 2:15 a.m. in the 500 block of Wilson Street in Marrero, JPSO spokesman Capt. Jason Rivarde said.

Deputies were dispatched to the street on an unspecified 911 call, Rivarde said, and found the suspect inside a vehicle. The JPSO said the man refused several commands to step out of the vehicle.

“After several minutes of deputies speaking with the suspect and attempting to secure his cooperation, the suspect escalated his refusal to cooperate by starting his vehicle’s engine,” Rivarde said. “Deputies who were in the direct path of the vehicle discharged their service weapons, striking the suspect several times.”

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, the agency said.

The family of the man identified him as Daniel Vallee, 32. Vallee leaves behind a 13-year-old daughter.

“Just think if it was your kid or brother shot up for no reason,” Vallee’s mother, Tammie Jamhour said. “I just ask people to have a heart and soul.”

Those who knew Vallee say he was going through a rough time and was living out of his car. They don’t know why he was on Wilson Street this fatal morning.

“He was a good person,” the victim’s brother, Christopher Vallee says. “We all have flaws but he was the best.”

Deputies say they spoke to Vallee for 14 minutes, trying to get him to cooperate before he started the engine and was fatally shot by deputies in the path of the vehicle.

“They knew the situation,” Christopher said. “They had time.”

Neighbors and friends want more information.

“No one is perfect but it’s not right to shoot people down,” Jamhour said. “My son is gone now.”

Rivarde said the incident was captured on “several” of the body-worn cameras with which JPSO Sheriff Joe Lopinto recently outfitted many deputies. Those cameras have been secured as evidence in the shooting investigation, Rivarde said. Investigators also are interviewing the responding deputies and witnesses to the incident.

“People don’t know the feeling till it happens,” Christopher wrote on Facebook. “We as people need to cherish the good moments we have with our loved ones and forgive those who do wrong.”

“He didn’t have to get shot down like this,” Jamhour said. “They could have prevented that from happening.”

Anyone with “relevant video footage” or additional information on the incident is asked to contact the JPSO Investigations Bureau at (504) 364-5300.

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