A man is locked up today after leading police from several agencies on a chase early this morning.
"The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident in which a deputy discharged his service weapon. The discharge occurred overnight on Interstate 55 near Ponchatoula after a pursuit that began in Metairie," Sergeant Brandon Veal said in a news release.
The chase went some 50 miles.
It started around 2:40am.
"A deputy observed an occupied truck behind a business near the intersection of Yale and Hudson Streets. The truck did not have a license plate attached and a traffic stop was initiated. During the stop the suspect driver was identified as Travis Umfrey, 44, of Metairie. Umfrey exited the truck and began yelling profanities at the deputy conducting the stop."
Veal says Umfrey disregarded police instructions and tried to get back in the truck and drive away, so the deputy tased him.
"The deputy deployed his department-issued conducted energy weapon (CEW) at Umfrey after he re-entered the truck and attempted to drive away from the traffic stop."
Despite being tased, Umfrey fled in the truck with an adult female passenger.
"He led deputies on a pursuit spanning several parishes that eventually included several law enforcement agencies."
Police deployed spike strips on I-55, which disabled Umfrey’s truck.
Veal says the driver tried to get a hold of the officer's TASER prompting a cop to shoot his gun.
"As deputies were trying to extract Umfrey from the truck and take him into custody, he attempted to grab one of their CEWs. One of the deputies fired a single shot from their service weapon at Umfrey, but missed. After Umfrey was removed from the truck, an extensive struggle took place on the ground. During the struggle, Umfrey again tried to arm himself by attempting to grab a knife that he had clipped to his pants."
Deputies finally got him handcuffed and took him into custody.
He now faces a long list of charges.
