Gad Black, 41, has been identified as the driver who reportedly hit Sgt. Caleb Eisworth, a police officer, on Monday morning. According to WAFB, Black allegedly bragged about it in a subsequent social media post.
“Just stretched one on Joor Rd.,” the text read.
Black faces charges of resisting an officer, hate crimes, and attempted first-degree murder of a police officer. According to WAFB, the Ford F-150 driver allegedly deliberately knocked the officer off his marked police motorbike while he was traveling home from work and dragged him over 500 feet. The incident occurred around 11 a.m. near the intersection of Greenwell Springs Road and Joor Road.
Black allegedly fled the scene after hitting Eisworth, according to an arrest file. According to the arrest report, authorities eventually captured Black on Airline Highway after tasing him during a struggle.
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According to the arrest record, during an interview with investigators, Black expressed a strong dislike for law enforcement. It was also revealed that Black had acknowledged following Sgt. Eisworth just before the crash.
According to sources, Sgt. Eisworth suffered multiple injuries, including two broken legs and a fractured arm. Eisworth has been on the force for 23 years.
Later on the day of the incident, the officer’s condition was described as “touch and go,” and he was admitted to a Baton Rouge hospital in extremely critical condition. The Baton Rouge Police Department asked the public for prayers.
“A great officer, a family man, a father, a husband, and a friend of mine. We need prayers,” said Brandon O’Neal, the president of the Baton Rouge Union of Police. “We got kids getting murdered in the streets, now a good friend of mine is fighting for his life in the hospital right now in the hospital. It doesn’t make sense.”
Baton Rouge Police Chief T.J. Morse echoed the earlier call for prayers. “Making it home after each shift is what I pray over every one of my officers each day,” Morse said. “I’m asking everyone to join me in that prayer now. Let’s fervently pray Officer Eisworth back home to his loved ones.”
Asia Raby, Black’s girlfriend, has also been arrested in connection with the case, according to deputies, and is charged with obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact to attempted first-degree murder of a police officer.
As part of the crash investigation that injured Sgt. Eisworth, police investigated a 911 call involving 40-year-old Raby. According to the arrest report, Raby gave police a description of Black’s car and later claimed to have found Black. According to officials, Raby stated that she had seized possession of Black’s vehicle and that no further assistance was required.
Raby was told she needed to reveal her location as well as Black’s. Raby ended the call with dispatchers, according to the arrest report. Authorities reported that she was arrested at her home, where the car involved in the collision was also discovered.
The case is being investigated by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. “This was a deliberate and cowardly attack on an officer—one of our community’s protectors—and it strikes at the very heart of public safety,” EBR Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux stated.
He added, “Sgt. Eisworth is a dedicated public servant who has spent over two decades protecting this city, and he was targeted while simply doing his job. We are outraged by this senseless act of violence and fully committed to ensuring the individual responsible is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. I want Sgt. Eisworth’s family, his BRPD family, and all of East Baton Rouge Parish to know that we are standing with and praying for you. I ask this entire community to lift him up with the same strength and support that he has shown us through years of faithful service.”
Meanwhile, Black was previously arrested in 2014 on two counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle on a police officer and sentenced to probation following a plea agreement, according to WFAB.
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Records indicate that in the 2014 case, Baton Rouge Police attempted to pull over Black for reckless driving on Florida Boulevard. This sparked a chase that, according to an arrest report at the time, “endangered numerous lives” and lasted for about 15 minutes. According to the complaint, he attempted to hit with two police cars as he flipped the bird at an overhead police helicopter, but instead he hit two other cars.
The chase went on until Baker police put spike strips down Thomas Road. The report states that his 9-year-old son, who was in the car at the time, was discovered in a fetal position “on the front passenger seat, visibly shaken, scared and suffering.”
He was later charged with Aggravated Flight from an Officer, Aggravated Criminal Damage to Property, Cruelty to Juveniles, Aggravated Assault With a Motor Vehicle Upon a Peace Officer, Attempted Injury or Killing of a Police Animal, and Resisting a Police Officer with Force or Violence, according to court documents.
Records reveal that two years later, prosecutors came to a plea deal where all charges—aside from the one for Aggravated Flight from an Officer—were dropped. After that, District Judge Beau Higginbotham gave Black a three-year probationary period, with credit for the time he had already spent awaiting punishment.
