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Officer Mitchum
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Shallerhorn
Man accused of killing Tulane police officer over mask mandate indicted for first-degree murder
A New Orleans grand jury indicted a man accused of killing a police officer in February at a high school basketball game over an alleged mask mandate dispute, the District Attorney's office said.
John Shallerhorn, who allegedly shot and killed police officer Martinus Mitchum outside of a basketball game at George Washington Carver High School in the Desire area, was indicted Wednesday for first degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm, authorities said.
Prosecutors said Shallerhorn killed Mitchum because employees told him to put on a mask. Shallerhorn's alleged victim, Mitchum, was a Second City Court Reserve Constable and Tulane University Police Officer.
Prosecutors said Mitchum was serving as security at the game when Shallerhorn was stopped by an employee for not wearing a mask. Shallerhorn was being escorted out by Mitchum when he fired two shots in his direction that resulted in Mitchum's death, authorities said.
At a March hearing, attorneys for Shallerhorn prepared to build an insanity defense by noting that he was at one time committed to a psychiatric hospital. Shallerhorn could ultimately plead not guilty by reason of insanity, according to authorities.
Mitchum’s shooting death was one of three significant interactions that Shallerhorn allegedly had with law enforcement that day.
Earlier the morning of Mitchum's death, Shallerhorn was kicked out of Harrah's Casino for not wearing a face covering. Police gave him a ticket for trespassing when he refused to leave.
About an hour before allegedly killing Mitchum, Shallerhorn asked two police officers to chat with him about "the spirit." Officers said they couldn't talk to him because they were responding to a 911 call and left the area.
A policing analyst who reviewed the video of that encounter said the interaction might have been an ambush in the making, especially in light of Shallerhorn’s arrest an hour later.
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