Ten years ago today, Louisiana experienced one of its darkest days when a lone gunman ambushed law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge. Six officers were shot. Four later died from their injuries: Baton Rouge Police officers Matthew Gerald and Montrell Jackson, and East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies Brad Garafola and Nicholas Tullier. East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux says officers continue to honor their sacrifice.
“Our hearts remain with the families. They have to carry this loss every single day and have for the last 10 years, and we’ll always stand behind them,” Gautreaux said.
Gautreaux was attending a Sheriff’s Association conference in Lake Charles when Gavin Long opened fire outside the Benny’s B-Quick convenience store and car wash on Airline Highway. Gautreaux and then-State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson flew back to Baton Rouge by helicopter and met with the victims’ families at a local hospital. Edmonson says it was heartbreaking.
“To see the wounds in the body where the bullets had pierced; to watch a dad actually touch the area where the bullet went in; that was just an emotional time for me to see that,” Edmonson recalled.
State Police determined Long traveled from Kansas City to Baton Rouge with the intent of targeting law enforcement. Investigators say he was motivated by anger over recent police shootings of Black men, including the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge 12 days earlier.
Gerald, Jackson and Garafola died the day of the attack. Tullier survived for nearly six years before dying in 2022 from complications related to his injuries. Gautreaux says Tullier’s determination inspired everyone around him.
“He was just an inspiration in himself; and he gave me courage to get through this. He fought like a lion; his determination, his grit,” Gautreaux said.
The attack began just after 8:40 on the morning of July 17th, 2016, and lasted less than 10 minutes. Investigators say Long fired 43 rounds before a Baton Rouge SWAT officer shot and killed him. Edmonson says ending the attack required extraordinary courage.
“City police officer shot him from, Good Lord, from over 100 yards away. It was an incredible shot. Had he not, this guy was going to Baton Rouge Police headquarters, and I think he would have done a lot more harm,” Edmonson noted.
The site of the ambush is just down the street from Baton Rouge Police headquarters. Gautreaux says law enforcement agencies are better prepared for similar threats today, thanks in part to intelligence shared through Louisiana’s fusion center.