Man Who Tackled Trooper's Shooter: I'm No Hero

Cops believe suspect also murdered roommate
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 25, 2015 5:25 AM CDT
Updated Aug 25, 2015 6:25 AM CDT
Man Who Tackled Trooper's Shooter: I'm No Hero
This image released by the Louisiana State Police via the "New Orleans Times-Picayune" shows Louisiana Senior Trooper Steven Vincent.   (Louisiana State Police/The Times-Picayune via AP)

Louisiana man Robert LeDoux says he isn't a hero and he was just doing what a lot of people would do when he ignored warnings of danger and tackled an armed man who had just shot a state trooper. LeDoux tells the AP that he was out for a drive on Sunday when bystanders pulled him over and warned him not to go any further. Instead, he says he went to the scene and found suspect Kevin Daigle standing over critically injured Senior Trooper Steven Vincent with "pure evil in his eyes." LeDoux says the suspect told him to mind his own business, but he tackled him and the bystanders ran over to hold the suspect down and handcuff him while he used Vincent's radio to call for help. Police say Daigle's pickup was stuck in a ditch and when the trooper arrived, Daigle got out of the vehicle and shot Vincent in the head with a shotgun.

Vincent died the next day, and LeDoux—who didn't realize that he knew the trooper until he saw his nametag—got choked up when he was called a hero at a news conference yesterday, the AP reports. "A hero saves somebody's life, and in the end I couldn't," he said. Daigle is in custody, and police say he's also a suspect in the murder of his roommate, who was found dead yesterday morning after police went to the home they shared to follow up on remarks Daigle made while being interviewed, the Advocate reports. Police say the 54-year-old, who has an extensive criminal record, including an assault on a police officer, was under the influence of alcohol and "at least one other type of drug," but it's not clear what triggered the killings. (More Louisiana stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X