MANGHAM, La. — A part-time north Louisiana police officer who was shot last month during a traffic stop died Thursday, authorities said.
Mangham police officer Marshall Waters was shot once in the lower abdomen on Oct. 17 after stopping a vehicle on Louisiana Highway 425, near the Franklin and Richland parish line. The bullet hit beneath his vest, authorities said.
Waters, 49, also worked for Northeast Louisiana Ambulance Service full time as an EMT. The agency's spokesman, Shane Scott, confirmed Waters' death shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday, The News-Star reported. Scott described Waters as a man who dedicated his time and life to public service and public safety.
On the day of the shooting, Waters underwent emergency surgery to repair a hemorrhaging femoral artery but remained in critical condition at Rapides Regional Medical Center. At least three emergency surgeries were required during his stay in the intensive care unit, the newspaper reported.
Mangham Police Chief Perry Fleming also confirmed Waters' death in a post shared on Facebook.
"It's with great sadness and broken hearts that I, Chief Perry Fleming, and the Mangham Police Department have to inform you of the passing of Officer Marshall Waters PD3 who was shot in the line of duty on October 17, 2020. We ask that you please continue to pray for Marshall Waters family and the Mangham Police Department family during this time. RIP PD3," the post said.
The alleged shooter, Hermandus Dashanski Semien, 27, of Ville Platte, was initially arrested on charges of armed robbery, theft of a motor vehicle and attempted first-degree murder of a police officer.
It was not immediately known whether the charges would be upgraded in light of Waters' death, and it was not immediately clear whether Semien had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
