Family sues Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office over son's death

Lina PortmanJune 4, 2024

1 2 minutes read

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WGNO) — A family is suing the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office after their son was fatally shot by a deputy at a Metairie apartment complex last year.

The family of 18-year-old Calvin Cains III is also asking the department to release the body camera footage.

The family, nor the public, has seen the body camera footage and, according to the family's attorney, Bobby DiCello, it would not prove that Cain's death was justifiable.

“At the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, I have questions and I deserve answers,” said Mallory Woodfork, mother of Calvin Cains III.

The teenager was fatally shot by Jefferson Parish Sheriff's deputies on June 6, 2023, just days before his 19th birthday.

Nearly a year later, Cains' family and their attorney gathered Monday at Cafe Istanbul in the St. Roch neighborhood of New Orleans to announce their civil lawsuit against the sheriff's office.

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Cains was wanted in connection with a road rage shooting in New Orleans, according to Sheriff Joe Lopinto.

Officers tracked him to an apartment complex on West Esplanade Avenue in Metairie, where the sheriff said he tried to elude authorities by running away.

“I have repeatedly requested body camera footage from that day, but my requests have gone unanswered,” Woodfork said.

Cains' family is calling for an investigation into their son's death, which they say was the result of excessive and unreasonable force.

“That they killed him without justification, I'm really hurt,” said Calvin Cains Jr., the teen's father. “On June 6, the last day, my life was over. My only child. I miss my son and call me “Daddy”.

DiCello says the lack of accountability from the sheriff's office indicates a systemic problem.

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“We would like an independent [Department of Justice] investigation into Jefferson Parish regarding a pattern of misconduct and policies and procedures that are not consistently followed and have not been consistently followed,” DiCello said. “We would ask for that too.”

WGNO contacted both the Sheriff's Office and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office. A sheriff's spokesman said he does not comment on pending litigation. A spokesperson for the prosecutor said his office was currently reviewing the case; therefore they cannot comment.

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