Wendell Allen shooting findings handed over to Prosecutor: New Orleans Police Kill Shirtless, Unarmed Black Man

From [HERE] The New Orleans Police Department delivered its investigation into last month's controversial killing of unarmed Wendell Allen to the district attorney's office Thursday. The NOPD announced the move in a news release issued Thursday evening. District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office will now examine the case.

In an interview last week, Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas characterized the NOPD's probe as a "fact-finding mission" and said a decision on whether to pursue possible criminal charges against officer Joshua Colclough, who fired the shot that killed Allen, would be made by Cannizzaro's office.

Allen was shot and killed March 7 by a single bullet fired by Colclough, a 4 1/2-year veteran. Allen, shirtless and clad in jeans and sneakers, was shot in the stairwell of his family's Prentiss Avenue home. He was unarmed.

Police were executing a search warrant for marijuana inside the home. To date, the NOPD has released few details about its investigation and has yet to offer a clear narrative to explain what, if anything, prompted Colclough to fire on Allen. Colclough has been reassigned to desk duty as the investigation plays out.

NOPD Narcotics task forces knocked on the door of a residence declaring, “This is police. We have a search warrant.” There was no answer. According to police, the cops then broke down the door, and entered the house, which had been under surveillance for marijuana sale activity. Still no answer. While searching the house, officers heard one gun blast. Officer Josh Colclough shot one time, killing 20-year-old Wendell Allen. [MORE] 

Serpas emphasized that members of a newly created internal Force Investigation Team, which examines police uses of force, worked on the case with homicide detectives. Representatives from the city's Police Monitor's office, as well as a pair of FBI agents assigned to the NOPD's internal affairs unit, monitored the police probe.