A man that Jefferson Parish deputies say led them on a chase and then pointed a semi-automatic at them was shot and killed just after midnight.

JPSO

Sheriff Newell Normand said that deputies were trying to pull over 22-year-old Learn Manuel Jr. for speeding when he took them on a chase that ended in Marrero.

Normand said when the chase ended on Pritchard Road in Marrero, Manuel pointed an AK-47 at deputies and refused several requests to drop the weapon before he was fired upon.

Normand said deputies found two small bags of marijuana and more than $700 in Manuel’s car.

Even though Manuel did not have a lengthy criminal record, Normand defended his deputies’ actions.

“I don’t hire my folks to be killed,” he said. “We’re not going to tolerate this kind of behavior. It is totally unacceptable to point a gun at an officer.”

Normand said that deputies are trained to ‘shoot to kill.’

“These street thugs that are out there carrying weapons like this, they don’t shoot to injure.”

Normand said his officers continue to face strong firepower from criminals and that he is considering arming his deputies with similar high-powered weaponry.

“If this is gonna continue to be the particular weapon of choice, we're gonna match it,” he said. “I'm gonna put my officers in the best position to protect their lives, so that they can go home to their wives, their moms, their dads and their kids.”