After a Lafayette Parish grand jury declined to indict anyone in the 2020 killing of Trayford Pellerin, District Attorney Don Landry says he wants Lafayette to learn lessons from the incident. He adds he feels the grand jury's decision is justified.
In total disagreement with that statement is Trayford Pellerin's family.
Landry says they reviewed 27 reports and supplemental reports, including body cam footage surveillance from different businesses and civilian video.
Pellerin’s mother says they're speechless that no indictment was made.
"I really don't know what to say. I'm speechless,” said Pellerin’s mother, Michelle Pellerin.
During Tuesday's news conference, video from at least three police body cams were shown all leading up to the moment Pellerin was shot 11 times outside of the Circle K convenience store on the Evangeline Thruway last August.
Trayford's mother says the majority of that video was something she had never seen before. Despite repeated requests, she says she was only allowed to see one video.
"The first one with the taser where it didn't work, but it had a defect. Other than that, anything else I didn't see,” said Pellerin.
Other surveillance video showed Pellerin in the Circle K store standing near the door for several minutes.
Trayford's mother says her son was very familiar with that store, and that Trayford's sister worked there.
"She worked at that store. He yelled 'Traneka Pellerin.' She was not at work that night. He would go there and check on her,” Pellerin explained. In the video, Pellerin looks out of the window as if he's looking for someone; he calls out a woman's name and tells the clerk the woman was in the bathroom.
Pellerin family attorney Ron Haley says the fight isn't over.
"The journey is not over. If you want to see change like I want to see change, do not leave us,” said Haley.
"A lot of this they could've presented to me early on. I mean, they held it back for nine months not knowing what actually went on,” added Pellerin.
Shortly after the DA’s press conference, Pellerin's mother thanked the outpouring of support from the community.
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