Man Arrested in Shooting Death of Ex-USC, NFL Player Joe McKnight

Joe McKnight, 28, was shot and killed during a road rage confrontation near New Orleans

A man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the shooting death of former USC and NFL player Joe McKnight in what authorities described as a road rage confrontation. 

McKnight, 28, was shot during a road rage confrontation that was possibly sparked by a driver cutting off another on a nearby bridge in Terrytown, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. The shooter was identified by police as Ronald Gasser, 54, and he was released after few hours after his arrest, drawing criticism.

He was arrested Monday after authorities interviewed several witnesses in connection with Thursday's shooting, according to Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Department jail records. Bond was set at $500,000 during a hearing Tuesday morning.

During a Tuesday morning news conference, an animated Sheriff Newell Normand defended the department's decision to initially release Gasser. The department obtained Gasser's statement on the evening of the shooting, but wanted to speak with witnesses before making an arrest, Normand said.

He also said the state's "stand your ground law" involving justifiable homicide was part of the investigation. 

"In this state, whether we like it or not, we have a very forward leaning stand your ground, self defense, justifiable homicide law that is very much in an affirmative fashion," Normand said. "It creates for us an obligation to make sure we get it right." 

Louisiana's law holds that people don't have a duty to retreat and can "meet force with force" if they reasonably believe that using deadly force is necessary. Law experts say it's not a blanket excuse.

"When you use lethal force, it's got to be proportional," said Ken Levy, an associate professor who teaches criminal law at LSU Law Center. "And the only way it's proportional is if McKnight was threatening serious bodily injury or death."

McKnight had a gun in his vehicle, but Normand said there is no evidence that he insinuated anything about a weapon during the confrontation. 

Gasser's release drew criticism from protesters, who said race played a role in the investigation. Normand pounded on a podium during the news conference explaining the investigation.

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"This isn't about race. Not a single witness has said ... one racial slur was uttered," the sheriff said. "Let's not try to make this out to be something that it is not. What we had were two adult males engaged in unacceptable behavior that did not understand conflict resolution. That led to tragic consequences."

Normand said he can point to "hundreds" of cases in which a person has been identified as a perpetrator, but was not immediately arrested. The department conducted more than 10 hours of interviews with Gasser and received consent to search his home, Normand said. Investigators also conducted more than 160 interviews, including one with a witness Saturday who Normand identified as "key" to the investigation.

Some witnesses were identified through license plate camera recognition hits, Normand said.

Normand also read profanity fillled messages received by elected officials regarding Gasser's release. 

"If people don't think we know what we're doing strategically, tough," he said. "I don't care."

In a statement issued Dec. 2, the sheriff's department said deputies responding to a 911 call Thursday arrived to find McKnight's Audi Q7 SUV stopped on the shoulder of Behrman Highway. Gasser's blue Infiniti G37 was stopped parallel to the SUV, according to the department.

Gasser fired his .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun from the driver's seat of the Inifiniti through an open passenger's side window, according to investigators. Witnesses told investigators the two were involved in a "heated verbal exchange" before the shooting.

A witness moved McKnight behind the two vehicles and administered CPR, but McKnight died at the scene, according to the sheriff's department statement. He suffered two gunshot wounds to the upper body, according to the coroner's office.

When deputies arrived at the scene of the shooting, Gasser handed them a gun and told them he shot McKnight, according to the sheriff's department. Gasser fired three rounds from inside his car, said Sheriff Normand. 

It's not clear whether Gasser has an attorney. Attempts to reach Gasser's family were unsuccessful Tuesday.

McKnight was rated the nation's No. 1 running back recruit when he came out of Louisiana in 2006 and signed with the University of Southern California. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the Jets in 2010 and played three seasons for New York. He spent a season with Kansas City, and most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

McKnight had a 107-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in 2011, and it remains the longest play in Jets history.

The New York Jets have held a moment of silence before their game against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium to honor former running back Joe McKnight, killed last Thursday in Louisiana.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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