Q: An African-American man allegedly killed a white policeman in Louisiana this past spring or summer. I haven’t heard what happened or the rest of the story.
—R.L. Turner, Atlanta
A: Louisiana will seek the death penalty against Grover Cannon, who authorities say shot and killed officer Thomas LaValley, of the Shreveport Police Department, on Aug. 5.
LaValley was shot when he responded to a domestic dispute, the Shreveport Times reported.
Cannon, who left the scene and was arrested the next day, pleaded not guilty when he was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder on Oct. 26.
Cannon also has been charged with the shooting death of Darren Williams on July 15, the Times reported.
LaValley, 29, was shot six times, including twice in the head, according to courtroom testimony.
He had been with the Shreveport Police Department for four years.
Q: How was the diplomatic post in Benghazi not adequately protected before the attack there in 2012?
—Paul Daniggelis, El Paso, Texas
A: An independent review and congressional investigations found that there were systematic "failures and leadership and management deficiencies" in the State Department.
An unclassified State Department report also stated security “was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place.”
“The short-term, transitory nature of Special Mission Benghazi’s staffing, with talented and committed, but relatively inexperienced American personnel, often on temporary assignments of 40 days or less, resulted in diminished institutional knowledge, continuity, and mission capacity,” the report stated.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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