Westlake Louisiana's first black mayor found dead immediately after taking office

Some have accused police of covering up a murder — perhaps a racially motivated one.

"Gerald "Wash" Washington was dead in the deserted parking lot of a former high school, a bullet wound in his chest. His gun was found by the body.

The coroner and the sheriff have pronounced Washington's death a suicide — a finding that has embroiled this oil-refinery town in conspiracy theories, with Washington's kin and friends insisting he had no reason to end his life.

"He had a smile that would just light up this room," said the outgoing mayor, Dudley Dixon." Reports state that soot from the pistol was found deep in the wound indicating that the gun was touching his chest when the trigger was pulled and that suggests suicide. People are outraged because this man had no reason to end his life and he was actually at a high point in his career. To believe that a newly elected mayor - the first black mayor EVER elected in the town of Westlake, Louisiana would take his own life so soon after taking office is ridiculous and I'd love to see the stats on how many people commit suicide by shooting themselves in the chest as opposed to the head. There was no note, no evidence he bade farewell to anyone, put his financial affairs in order, or gave any other indication he was about to kill himself... I'm hoping there will be some sort of an investigation into this matter, as it is a very sad occurrence.