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A 43-year-old man loved ones say had a history of psychiatric illnesses was shot and killed by a city police officer Tuesday night in a Houma trailer park, after he fired a shotgun during attempts by police to talk him into disarming.
Relatives said they called police for help at around 7 p.m. Tuesday after a distraught Jose Olivares “waved a gun around,” though they maintain he was not threatening anybody.
“I called the Sheriff’s Office and his mom called the police and I think his cousin Destiny called the cops,” said Roxanne Griffin, who identified herself as Olivares’ girlfriend of three years. “He was flipping out. He had got like that before.”
Olivares, Griffin and relatives said, had not taken psychiatric medication he was prescribed for about a month.
According to authorities, Olivares was barricaded inside of a trailer at 154 Agnes Street.
Authorities have maintained a virtual cone of silence around the incident. The Louisiana State Police are conducting the investigation. Standard procedure is for another agency to investigate a fatal incident such as this. In this way the Houma Police Department does not investigate itself.
“This is an active investigation and our investigators and crime lab will ensure that all the facts are gathered,” said Louisiana State Police Trooper Jesse LaGrange. “Once the investigation is complete, the findings will be turned over to the Terrebonne Parish District Attorney’s Office.”
Ranking law enforcement sources provided some details, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the case with the media.
Those sources confirmed that Olivares was inside the residence for a period of time, then came outside displaying a shotgun. A less-lethal option – a beanbag round – was fired and Olivares allegedly released the gun. He then allegedly picked up the weapon again, firing at the TPSO Bearcat truck that had been dispatched to the scene. Almost instantaneously, according to a law enforcement official, the city officer fired, felling Olivares.
The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m.
Earlier in the day Olivares and Griffin had attended the Krewe of Houmas Mardi Gras parade, with Griffin’s children. They caught the parade near Stadium Drive, then moved on to catch it again on Barrow Street, near NAPA auto parts. Olivares was initially fairly good spirits, Griffin said, drinking Heineken beers and Jell-O shots.
They left the parade route early, however, dropping off the children with relatives.
“Then when we got back in the vehicle he started talking about his mom who passed away and said ‘I want to be with my mom,’” Griffin said.
By the time he got to the trailer Olivares’ distress continued, Griffin said, adding “his father came to check up on him.”
Born in Galveston, Olivares has lived in Houma, Dulac and Michigan, has no history of having been incarcerated at the Terrebonne Parish jail.
“Joe was awesome,” Griffin said. “He loved me and loved my kids.”
Family members were trying to make sense Wednesday of being in the uncomfortable position of calling for help because they fear for the safety of a disturbed loved one, only to have the call for help have a fatal result.
“They were only called because we thought that they could help not kill him,” said a cousin, Lawanda Lynn Ray. “He was not trying to harm anyone, he never threatened them, he was depressed and then got scared when they surrounded the house and put snipers up. He was scared.”
