Gerald Washington

Gerald "Wash" Washington (c. 1949 – December 30, 2006) was a local politician and elected in 2006 as the first black mayor of Westlake, Louisiana, in the southwest part of the state. Having served three terms on the city council, he died of a single gunshot wound on December 30, 2006. He was scheduled to take office on January 2, 2007. The Calcasieu Parish coroner ruled that his death was a suicide, which the family rejected. A state police investigation also concluded he had died from suicide.

Biography Washington was a well-known and popular local political figure, having been elected and served three terms on the city council. He was a veteran of Vietnam and had a career with Conoco, retiring as a refinery supervisor.

Elected in the fall of 2006 as the first black mayor in the city's history, Washington was scheduled to take office on January 2, 2007. The city is majority white, and more than 80% of those who voted for him were white. The truck was described as sprayed with foam and washed by the fire department before it was returned to his family house.

Washington was determined to have died from a single gunshot from his own revolver, and powder was found deep in the wound. The coroner said this finding meant that the gun was pressed against his chest at the time it was shot, and suggested suicide.

Findings on death The state police report totalled more than 800 pages of documents, and included both additional physical evidence, such as the pattern of blood spatters indicating the fatal wound was self-inflicted, and investigation of possible motives. According to the investigation, Washington had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars from his retirement account in gambling, owed about $50,000 to the IRS, and had been sleepless and depressed in the weeks leading up to his death. The Calcasieu Parish District Attorney John DeRosier officially closed the investigation on March 29, 2007, concluding that Washington had killed himself.

The family acknowledged facts of financial and other issues, but contended that Washington was strongly Roman Catholic and would not have died from suicide.