Musician says LSP roughed him up

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A New Orleans musician says he was roughed up by state troopers in the Ninth Ward, for no reason. Shamarr Allen tells FOX 8 he was afraid for his life and thinks he was racially profiled.

Shamarr Allen had just dropped off a friend, on July 23rd, after finishing up a gig at DBA on Frenchmen when he says the encounter happened.

Allen explains, "One officer steps on my face, the others got his knee in my back, the other one that's got my hands, is putting handcuffs on me. My elbow, my shoulder, my knee, all of that is scraped up."

Allen says he was at the intersection of Caffin and Chartres, around 2:30 that morning, when he noticed some police activity. He tried to leave the intersection, but that's when he says state troopers pulled up behind him and forced him out of his vehicle.

State police tell FOX 8 they were in the neighborhood looking for an escaped inmate when they saw Allen stop dead in the middle of the street, and put his car in reverse, trying to leave the area. State Police Lt. J.B. Slaton says Allen wasn't compliant, wouldn't show his hands and troopers were afraid he might have a weapon, so they removed him from the vehicle. Slaton says dash cam video, once released, will show what happened next.

Allen claims he was roughed up. Slaton says troopers simply used control techniques to place him on the ground.

"From the dash cam view, there's no indication that Mr. Allen was, a foot was placed on his head or any weapons or guns were placed in his face, or anything of that nature but with that being said, this is something that we're going to look into to the fullest," said Lt. Slaton.

Shamarr Allen says he filed a complaint Monday with the NOPD's public integrity bureau. Lt. Slaton says troopers have not received word of any complaints filed against them. Allen says he simply wants an apology from the troopers. Lt. Slaton tells us state police have called Allen and left him several messages. He says he's never received any calls.

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