William Piercefield

On the night of July 24, 1965, William Piercefield, the African-American victim, was shot and killed during a standoff with Ferriday Police Department (FPD) and Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office (CPSO) officers. According to a contemporaneous newspaper account, earlier that evening, Piercefield threatened, during an argument to go get a gun. Piercefield’s family called the police and the officers responded to Piercefield’s home. By the time the officers arrived, the victim had armed himself with a .22 caliber rifle and barricaded himself in his home with his 11-year-old son.