Photo: Twitter
A Black family is living in a surreal nightmare after a SWAT team rammed their door and arrested a father of two for simply trying to defend himself and his children.
Let’s paint the picture.
Corey Joseph Marioneaux Jr., 24, was soundly sleeping in his bed with his two toddlers when Pensacola, Florida Police SWAT officers charged in at 5 AM on Sunday, Feb. 6 to execute a search warrant.
Not knowing what was happening, Marioneaux reached for his licensed and legally registered handgun and fired a shot to defend both himself and his two children, ages 1 and 3.
The warrant was issued in relation to a shooting near downtown Pensacola in January.
“He wasn’t a convicted felon, he wasn’t a person of interest,” Marcus Lett, a relative of Marioneaux, told WEAR-TV, ABC News Channel 3.
Now Marioneaux is facing charges of attempted murder for firing at the officers. “He’s licensed to carry a firearm, they took his weapon,” Lett said. “They know he’s licensed, so why go through these extremes to press these charges when anyone would’ve done the same thing to protect our home and our family? We can’t stand idly and watch someone that we know — without a doubt in our minds — don’t deserve what’s been given to him. The narrative that has been painted is not this individual.”
Pastor LuTimothy May told Channel 3 that Marioneaux has no criminal record and volunteers with the church and local organizations.
“The young man — once he found out it was the police, he laid down the weapon, he came out with his hands up,” Pastor May said. “So that lets you know this isn’t an aggressive cop killer that wouldn’t do harm to anyone.”
Channel 3 reported Friday that according to the Pensacola Police arrest report, SWAT officers reported they knocked and announced their presence for “approximately 10 seconds” before ramming the door and entering the home.
Monday, Pensacola Police updated their statement to read: “Due to the high-risk nature of the incident, SWAT was utilized to serve the search warrant. Members of SWAT knocked and announced their presence and waited approximately 15 seconds before opening the residence’s door.”
According to reporting by Channel 3 the department’s policy clearly says: “Generally, members must wait at least 15 seconds after the onset of knocking and announcing before forcibly entering.” Read more.
