Police Shooting Family Grieves

The family of Marquinton Terral Brooks laid their beloved to rest Saturday( Oct. 8), as they are slowly coming to accept that Marquinton is no longer with them. A sheriff's deputy in western Ouachita parish killed Marquinton last Monday afternoon (Oct.2). According to media and law enforcements accounts, Marquinton and two other passengers were pulled over for a traffic stop. Deputies allege that Marquinton refused to comply with the deputy's orders, and tried to drive away. The report says that as the car started to move, the deputy reached inside the car in an effort to stop the vehicle. It also said that the deputy was "in a headlock" as the car drove away, but there were no reports of injuries. Somehow, the car stopped, a struggle allegedly ensued as William Underwood, the second passenger, ran away from the vehicle. During the struggle, police say that Marquinton produced a gun, whereby he was shot and killed. Underwood was apprehended with drugs and a firearm in his possession. The third passenger wasn't harmed, but was said to collaborate deputies' account of the incident.

The incident happened about 5:30p.m. that afternoon. At about 5:41p.m., the family received a call that Marquinton had been shot, and told the family where he was. Several members of the family hurriedly drove to the area where the incident happened, only to be asked by officers at the scene at a roadblock, "how did they know" of the incident. They were told "to wait", but from their vantage point, they didn't see or hear any emergency vehicles come to the area, but only saw law enforcement vehicles. As the family asked more questions, they also noticed that there wasn't any yellow tape at the scene, but didn't get any answers, only questions about who they were. The family felt that the officers in charge treated them in a manner that was unprofessional, given the stress that they were under, not knowing if their loved one was dead or alive. The family thought that if the officers knew that they were related to Marquinton, and they knew who they (deputies) shot, just tell them if it was their loved one. The father, along with Marquinton's mother and grandmothers were there, but still the family had to wait hours before they finally got confirmation that Marquinton "was deceased", allegedly telling them that he had "drugs and a gun" on him, nothing else. The family contends that throughout their ordeal, the treatment that they received was crude and abusive. The family also said that the place where Marquinton was killed was more than a mile from where they were.

The family said that there wasn't any ambulance/first responders that arrived at/near the scene of the shooting, as they said that their loved one "just laid there on the ground" without any dignity, when officers knew he was long dead. The family is very hurt, having just buried Marquinton Saturday (Oct. 7) in a closed casket funeral service. One of his grandmothers said of Marquinton, "they didn't kill a thug in the streets, but a man who was loved, and respected. He graduated from West Monroe High, worked at a local KFC and got a degree as an auto tech. The family has come closer together, said one of his relatives, as they rely on their faith in God to get them through this difficult time. They want and need your prayers.