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Officers know that danger lurks, but attack on BRPD sergeant is hard to explain
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BATON ROUGE — Police officers know danger could be around every corner. For Sergeant Caleb Eisworth, it was along Joor Road while he was traveling on his police motorcycle to escort a funeral procession.
The Baton Rouge Police Department sergeant died Sunday morning, 49 days after police say he was deliberately attacked simply for the uniform he wore.
The president of the Baton Rouge Police Union, Brandon O'Neal, said all officers are aware of the uncertainty on every shift.
"This is not TV or a video game, we don't get to regenerate," said O'Neal.
According to investigators, Gad Black targeted the officer and later bragged about it on social media. "It's a tough pill to swallow," said O'Neal. "You know that every academy hears, and they want you to look left and right at your academy mates and realize that one of you may not make it."
Eisworth was struck in mid-June and survived for seven weeks, but took a turn for the worse this past weekend.
"What was going through my mind is that if he survived miraculously in any kind of way, how could he ever mentally or emotionally get over being dragged underneath a truck with a motorcycle for 500 feet," said District Attorney Hillar Moore.
Black was initially charged with attempted murder, but prosecutors say they will seek his execution if Eisworth's family desires.
Moore's office has seldom pursued death penalty cases in his sixteen years as prosecutor. His office has only taken three capital cases to court. This one is deserving, he said.
"This is an extremely tragic and horrific way to die and be killed," said Moore.
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