Shreveport, Louisiana — A local man wanted for shooting a Shreveport Police officer to death last night is behind bars.
Just after 3:00 p.m. on August 6, 2015, law enforcement officers located 27 year old Grover Cannon at a home in the 3800 block of Jackson Street. Cannon, of the 3400 block of Judson Street in Shreveport, was taken into custody without incident. Cannon will be booked into the Shreveport City Jail on one count of first degree murder, one count of attempted second degree murder and one count of convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
The apprehension was the result of an intense manhunt by federal, state, parish and local police agencies working together to apprehend the brutal killer of Shreveport Police Officer Thomas LaValley. Officer LaValley was responding to a dispatched call of suspicious activity just after 9:00 p.m. on August 5, 2015 at a home in the 3500 block of Del Rio Street when he encountered Cannon who subsequently shot him multiple times in the upper body.
Other officers responding to the call found the mortally wounded officer, pulled him out of the home and called for medical assistance. Officer LaValley was transported to University Health by the Shreveport Fire Department where he was later pronounced deceased. Officer LaValley was on duty, in full uniform and wearing his department issued body armor at the time he was shot.
Officer Thomas J. LaValley was hired by the department in February of 2011 and served the citizens of Shreveport faithfully since that time. He was assigned to Evening Shift Patrol in west Shreveport and was a superlative officer, colleague, and friend. Chief Shaw, grieving with family members and fellow officers, said, “The City of Shreveport and the Shreveport Police Department has suffered an unimaginable loss tonight with the murder of Officer LaValley.
Thomas was an excellent police officer and, more than just that, he was truly dedicated to his chosen profession and had a heart for service. He loved being a police officer and we will never forget his dedication and courage.”
