Watchdog: Marksville resident: ‘It’s crooked around here’

MARKSVILLE — A plush teddy bear, soaked through with rain, sits surrounded by shiny, rain-spattered balloons outside the gate of the Indian burial mounds here.

The balloons catch the rays of passing headlights of vehicles that stop on the slicked street and pause in memory of 6-year-old Jeremy David Mardis, shot and killed by police officers on Tuesday evening.

Louisiana State Police on Friday arrested Marksville Ward 2 deputy marshals Derrick Stafford and Norris Greenhouse Jr., charging both with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in the death of the boy. Another deputy marshal and a Marksville Police Department officer also were on the scene.

The investigation is continuing.

Marksville Police Department officials answering the phone Saturday would not talk about the case or accusations made by residents about police brutality/misconduct saying Police Chief Elster Smith would “give updates” on Monday. Calls to Marksville Mayor John Lemoine indicated his cell phone was turned off or not accepting calls

Some residents on Martin Luther King Drive, where the shooting occurred, were quick to share what they knew about Jeremy and his father, Chris Few, who remains in serious condition at Rapides Regional Medical Center. Yet few were willing to go on the record with Gannett Louisiana, saying that “making waves” in the neighborhood would make them targets of local law enforcement.

Santana Dominick, a resident of the neighborhood who was present at the shooting, said she knew the family and had talked with Few occasionally.

“He loved his son,” Dominick said. “Everything he did was for his son.”

Dominick said she heard gunshots on Nov. 3 and saw the police chase Few down Martin Luther King Drive. Dominick said Few pulled over to the side of the street to comply with officer commands, but as soon as he opened the car door, the police opened fire into the vehicle.

As many as 18 shots might have been fired. Five of those shots ended up hitting and killing Jeremy.

Dominick said the police tried to push her and other witnesses away from the shooting after it happened. Other residents of the neighborhood said local law enforcement was trying to keep the crime scene “hush-hush” because Greenhouse is the son of an assistant Avoyelles Parish district attorney.

When asked about local law enforcement’s role in the community, several residents mentioned excessive use of force by young, “trigger-happy” cops who lacked experience on the police force.

“It’s crooked around here,” Dominick said. “I see police jump on men and break their arm, bodyslam children to the ground ... They have no respect for us. We can’t even live here comfortable because the police are nagging us for no reason.”

One resident said he had been stopped by a cop for standing near the street and talking with his cousin. Another resident said the police had paid her a visit after she bought a new car. An additional resident said she had been questioned by police after her house got a new coat of paint.

The neighborhood where the shooting occurred is known as “the hood,” according to one resident, and the “Drug Zone,” according to another. Several residents had been busted by local law enforcement for cocaine, or when stopped by officers were taken to jail on outstanding warrants.

But one resident, who asked to remain anonymous in order to keep his good standing with law enforcement, said cops can get away with corruption and brutality because they know the residents of the neighborhood won’t shoot back or retaliate.

Of particular concern, multiple residents alleged that they knew of police who stopped young women whom they knew had warrants or were trying to stay out of jail and propositioned them for sexual favors.

When asked about why the police would have been chasing Few, whom residents said had no criminal record with the state, several residents suggested an argument that had taken place between Few and Jeremy’s mother. Residents said Few had recently gained custody of Jeremy, and the mother sent in a tip to the police out of anger.

Residents also speculated about whether the boy’s mother was having an affair with a local law enforcement officer, who then initiated the chase from revenge.

According to Jeremy’s obituary, the mother, Katie Mardis, lives in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

For Dominick, the only realities that matter are that the neighborhood’s residents are constantly harassed by the police, and that a 6-year-old boy is dead.

“I have a 5-year-old brother. We’re all so fearful because it could have been us,” Dominick said. “I would like to see the ones who shot do time, real time. I just want justice for this baby.”