The frustration of a traffic jam on Interstate 10 in New Orleans turned to terror for Iraq War veteran Charise Taylor when a man approached her passenger door and demanded entry.
“As he comes up he’s close and he’s pretty aggressive trying to get the car door open,” Taylor told WDSU 6. “He makes eye contact with me and he’s still trying to get it opened a couple of times,” Taylor continues.
Compounding the issue is Taylor’s two-year-old son who is in the car during the encounter. Taylor’s training and experience quickly kick in and she grabbed her gun. “It’s locked and loaded,” Taylor remembers saying.
Brandishing the gun was enough as the man eventually fled without a shot being fired. “You shouldn’t have to navigate your own city like a war zone. It’s un-American,” Taylor expounds. “The crime is out of control and it is terrifying. At this point, having to use the same tactics in an American city that you use in Iraq and Afghanistan simply to navigate through the city it’s scary and I’m not the only mom feeling this way.”
Adding insult to injury, the New Orleans Police Department, in a statement, referred to the altercation as, “a disturbance”. The NOPD issued the following statement after the altercation:
“The NOPD is actively investigating a disturbance that occurred on Interstate 10 West at the Canal Street exit on February 11, 2022, at about 5:20 pm. The incident classification is based on the available information regarding the incident at the time the report was written. We do not have any additional information to provide at this time.”
Despite the fear, Taylor is comfortable with her training. “The emotions honestly your body takes in a different form I stayed in my body of course but everything transformed I’m trained to do this I’ve gone to classes I’m prior military if I have to pull this trigger that’s what I have to do,” Taylor said.
