Background: News footage of the aftermath of the crash involving a Baton Rouge police officer (WAFB). Inset (left): Sgt. Caleb Eisworth (Baton Rouge Police Department). Inset (right): Gad Black (East Baton Rogue Sheriff’s Office).
A Louisiana man who allegedly ran over a police officer with his pickup truck reportedly bragged about it on Facebook.
Baton Rouge police arrested 41-year-old Gad Black on Monday after accusing him of allegedly intentionally driving into a marked motorcycle that was operated by Sgt. Caleb Eisworth, whose age was not provided. According to reporting by WAFB, a local CBS affiliate, Eisworth was on his way home from work on Monday morning when he was hit by a pickup truck that was driven by Black, who then allegedly dragged the officer 500 feet before fleeing the scene.
Eisworth was critically injured and suffered from broken legs, a broken arm, and other injuries.
According to an arrest report obtained by WAFB, police found Black not long after the collision. Black reportedly resisted arrest and police tased him in order to take him into custody.
While in custody, police said that Black — who has a history of arrests related to offenses against law enforcement — allegedly admitted to following Eisworth while in his vehicle.
Before his arrest, Black seemingly bragged about the crash in two posts on a Facebook account with his name. One post published at 12:23 p.m. on Monday read, “Just Stretched One On Joor Rd,” a quote that included the location of the crash. Minutes earlier, at 12:16 p.m., Black apparently wrote, “Check Him Out On Joor Rd. Stretched One.”
Another post at the same account, published at 12:19 p.m., alluded to the case of Rodney Hinton, who allegedly intentionally ran over a sheriff’s deputy in Ohio after his teenage son was shot and killed by a police officer.
Black was charged with attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, hate crimes, and resisting an officer.
Also arrested was Black’s 40-year-old girlfriend, Asia Raby, who was charged with accessory after the fact in connection to Black’s attempted murder charge and obstruction of justice. According to WAFB’s reporting on Raby’s arrest, police said she was involved with a 911 call in which she provided a description of Black’s pickup truck and his location. While she reportedly stated that she needed no further assistance, she allegedly disconnected the call after being asked for her location and Black’s location.
Raby was arrested at her home, where police found Black’s vehicle.
A spokesperson from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office told local ABC affiliate WBRZ on Tuesday that Eisworth was still in critical condition but showing signs of improvement.
