Louisiana officer charged with killing of Alonzo Bagley has resigned from police department

By Ryan Young and Devon M. Sayers, CNN

The man charged in the shooting of an unarmed Black man last month has resigned from the Shreveport, Louisiana, police department.

Former Officer Alexander Tyler, 23, resigned from the force late last week, according to Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux.

Tyler had been on administrative leave since being charged with negligent homicide after the February 3 shooting death of Alonzo Bagley.

“This decision was solely made by Mr. Tyler and his attorney. The City has followed all policies and procedures during this process,” the mayor said in a statement issued Friday.

Bagley, 43, was shot after Tyler and another officer responded to a domestic disturbance call at an apartment complex, according to Louisiana State Police, which is investigating the fatal encounter.

When the officers arrived, Bagley is seen meeting them at the door then walking through the apartment saying he is going to put his dog up, accoridng to police body-worn camera video. He then heads out a back door and jumps down from a balcony and flees. After a short chase, Tyler shoots Bagley, who was unarmed, state police have said.

Investigators have released the video and a 911 call related to the shooting, which happened less than a month after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by Memphis officers during a traffic stop — a case that reignited a national conversation about police use of force against people of color, particularly Black Americans.

Tyler’s attorney, Dhu Thompson, told CNN last month that he hopes the video is reviewed “thoroughly and a decision is made based on facts and evidence.”

“Officers are always faced on a day-to-day basis with dangerous situations like that and at times where they have to make split-second decisions where they’re in a potential life-threatening situation,” Thompson said.

If convicted on the negligent homicide charge, Tyler faces up to five years in prison. He has been released on bail. Tyler’s arraignment is set for April.

Shreveport, in the northwestern part of Louisiana, is the state’s third most-populous city and 56% of its 184,000 residents are Black, according to the US Census Bureau.

Officer was twice suspended, documents show

The former officer had been twice suspended and faced several internal affairs investigations in 21 months of service with the department. His two suspensions occurred in November 2022 and December 2022, police personnel records show.

The November suspension was for conduct that is unbecoming during an incident that occurred in September 2022, according to the records. Tyler was suspended without pay for 15 days. The file did not elaborate further.

He was again suspended for 15 days in December, but the records did not indicate the reason.

In February 2022, a “personnel action notice” was issued and Tyler was transferred to a new area of patrol and shift. The documents don’t say what prompted the action.

He received a letter of commendation from the department in April 2022 for his work on a shots fired call that led to a drug bust, the documents show.

A performance review from June 2022 said Tyler “displays good judgment,” “has satisfactory contacts with the public,” and noted that he “tactically performs well under stress and has been actively taking steps to improve his communication skills under stress and has indeed improved in that area.”

After Tyler was charged last month, Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said, “I would not say he has been a disciplinary issue, or at least not to the point where things would rise on our radar. We do have a procedure in place called an early warning system when an officer gets so many incidents, that’s brought to our attention. His history with our department had not reached the level where the early warning system would have picked it up and brought him in front of our radar.”

When asked by CNN whether Tyler had previously been cited for violence towards a suspect, the chief said, “To my knowledge only one, I believe, I wouldn’t hold me to closely, but only one comes to mind at this point.” It is unclear what incident the chief was referring to and he did not elaborate.

Bagley’s family has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against Tyler, seeking more than $10 million in damages. The lawsuit alleges that the officer violated Bagley’s rights under the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures.”

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