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Westlake Louisiana Mayor Gerald Washington was found shot to death in a parking lot on December 30th. The newly elected mayor of the small town located 200 miles west of New Orleans, was preparing to be officially sworn into office in the following days after his death. He was found with a single bullet wound to his chest. His own gun was found beside his body.
The corner and the sheriff have ruled Washington’s death a suicide, despite the assertions from friends and family members that it was unlikely he would take his own life as he was to become the first black mayor of the town, which is 80% white. Dismissing the families’ belief that Washington was the victim of a hate crime by saying that it is common for the families of suicide victims to have a hard time facing the realization, the sheriff also dismissed the fact that the 12-year city council veteran had received several hate messages prior to the election, in which only 1,000 people out of 4,700 residents of Westlake participated in the vote.
Another mystery surrounding the death is that within two hours of his body being found, his truck (which was at the scene) was returned back to his home. Also, besides there being no suicide note, Washington was right handed, yet the gun was found on his left side, and his left hand was bloodied.
Despite some believing that it might be a hate crime, the other possibility is that he was murdered because he was about to expose corruption, as he was planning to do an external audit on the past administration, said his son. Since his death, the family has been able to get the Louisiana State Police – the same police station who initially ruled the death as a suicide – to begin a full investigation into the incident.
“We’re just waiting to hear what they find out, and if the state police comes back with the same conclusion, I don’t have a problem with that,†a determined Washington told BlackAmericaWeb.com, adding that no one has said how long this second investigation will take.
“I may lose everything I have trying to find my father’s assassin,†Washington said, suggesting that he will miss work waiting with his family to hear what happens. “But I am fighting for justice here. And here is where I need to be.â€
This past Monday, two shotgun blasts were fired at the house of Ernest Lampkins, the first black mayor of Greenwood Louisiana, which is 150 miles south of Westlake. While the shots were directed at the living room window, no one was hurt. Again, Lampkins, who has been Mayor since 2004, had received hate mail and threats, but no overt acts of violence.
As I was planning to write about the increase of violence in New Orleans, I wonder if these incidents are all related. As I watched When The Levees Broke recently, I have often thought about one of the people featured in the documentary, a young man who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and was shot by group of racists as they tried to find a way out of New Orleans. His cousin was later abducted and beaten up by the same group of men. The man who was shot now has a thick scar running down his neck and several pinhole marks from the shotgun blast on his chest, said that he had never viewed New Orleans as having a race problem until Hurricane Katrina.
NEXT: A look at what's currently happening in New Orleans.
