The Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JPSO) responded to a disturbance at a residence early in the afternoon of January 1, 2022. Preliminary investigations revealed the suspect had broken into a vehicle and stole a weapon earlier in the day. He later broke into the home that was located in Chatham and assaulted one of the residents and threatened to kill another resident. The suspect, who was identified as 63-year-old Michael Dobbins from Chatham, fled the residence prior to JPSO arriving. The JPSO later received calls in reference to Dobbins firing shots at a passing vehicle in the area of the burglaries.
Later that evening, at approximately 8:45 p.m., officers located Dobbins hiding behind some abandoned vehicles on Barnett Street. During the search for Dobbins on Barnett Street, he confronted and pointed a weapon at the JPSO Officers. The officers gave loud verbal commands for him to drop the weapon and he refused their commands. The officers fired their duty weapons at Dobbins striking him several times. Dobbins was pronounced dead at the scene.
Louisiana State Police processed the scene for all evidence and is the lead investigating agency for the officer-involved shooting.
This is an active and on-going investigation. After the evidence is processed and the report is completed it will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office for review.