HARVEY, La. -- The Louisiana man who fatally shot ex-NFL player Joe McKnight during a road rage dispute was jailed on a manslaughter charge as a sheriff angrily defended the investigation Tuesday, saying authorities strategically waited for days to make the arrest because they needed to find independent witnesses.Ronald Gasser, 54, was initially taken into custody after the shooting last Thursday but he was released without being charged, drawing heated criticism from protesters who said race played a role in the investigation. Gasser, who is white, was arrested late Monday. McKnight was black.Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand pounded on a podium during a news conference explaining the investigation.This isnt about race. Not a single witness has said ... one racial slur was uttered, the sheriff said.The case comes at a time of intense scrutiny in the African-American community about the shootings of black men, in particular by police. While this case doesnt involve a police shooting, it has flared temperatures and drawn protests at the sheriffs department.Its not clear whether Gasser has an attorney. Attempts to reach Gassers family were unsuccessful Tuesday.The sheriff said the dispute between the men started on a bridge and proceeded into a New Orleans suburb, with both men driving erratically and yelling at each other. Eventually, the cars came to a stop and McKnight confronted Gasser, who was still seated in his car, the sheriff said. Gasser pulled out a gun and shot McKnight three times, killing him. When deputies arrived, the sheriff said Gasser handed them his gun and said he shot McKnight, 28.The sheriff said McKnight had a gun in his vehicle but no evidence suggested he insinuated anything about it. It was his stepfathers gun, and his stepfathers vehicle, the sheriff said.During the news conference, the sheriff read aloud some of the derogatory remarks about the investigation, including racially charged comments.We have sometimes unrealistic expectations of how these things work ... you dont just run out and start slapping cuffs on people, Normand said.He noted that on Thursday, Gasser gave authorities a statement that included him being fearful and defending himself, saying that McKnight had made threatening comments. On Thursday evening, authorities had only been able to interview six witnesses, none of whom had seen the shooting. One person they talked to lied to authorities about what happened, the sheriff said.Normand said had an arrest been made Thursday, he was certain people would be afraid to come forward. Instead, authorities found more than 250 people they wanted to talk to by identifying license plates in the area at the time, and conducted more than 160 interviews. The sheriff said several witnesses made comments contradicting Gassers statements and were the key to making the arrest.He also pointed out that Gasser didnt ask for an attorney but instead sat with authorities for over ten hours of interviews in the days after the shooting and gave permission for them to search his home.Normand also pushed back against questions about whether he understood the fear that a shooting like this had brought about among some in the black community.Lets not try to make this out to be something that it is not. What we had were two adult males engaged in unacceptable behavior that did not understand how to deal with conflict resolution, he said.The sheriff did not want to go into details about why he felt Gasser should be arrested even though the state has a version of the Stand Your Ground law.Louisianas law holds that people dont have a duty to retreat and can meet force with force if they reasonably believe that using deadly force is necessary. Law experts say its not a blanket excuse.When you use lethal force, its got to be proportional, said Ken Levy, an associate professor who teaches criminal law at LSU Law Center. And the only way its proportional is if McKnight was threatening serious bodily injury or death.McKnight played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs.The Jets held a moment of silence Monday night before their game against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife Stadium to honor the former running back. He most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.McKnights death was eerily similar to that of former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith, who was killed last April in a shooting sparked by a traffic altercation. Cardell Hayes is on trial and charged with second-degree murder.--Fuller reported from New Orleans.--This story corrects the first quote from saying not a single racial slur was uttered to not one racial slur. Fake Royals Jerseys . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. Cheap Royals Jerseys .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Wholesale Royals Jerseys . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Royals Jerseys 2020 . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Mike Napoli and Rajai Davis did not receive one-year qualifying offers from the reigning American League champion Cleveland Indians before Mondays deadline.Indians president Chris Antonetti said last week that the club had expressed to both Napoli and Davis that they would like to re-sign the potential free agents.All teams have until 5 p.m. ET on Monday to determine whether to offer their free agents a one-year, $17.2 million deal. If the player declines the deal, the team which made the offer is eligible for a compensatory draft pick the following year if he signs elsewhere.The Indians also announced Monday that veteran outfielder Coco Crisp, whose $13 million option was declined Friday, was not extended the qualifying offer.In his first season with Cleveland, Napoli reached career highs in homers (34), plate appearances (645) and RBIs (101). The 35-year-old struggled in the poostseason, but Antonetti said Friday that the Indians would take into account the balance of the season.ddddddddddddMike did a phenomenal job for us, he said. He made a huge impact for us on the field and in the clubhouse, and I think thats the lens through which well view it.Davis, too, helped the Indians to their first AL Central title since 2007. The 35-year-old led the league in stolen bases (43) and helped them offset the loss of All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley.For a little while, Davis had the biggest homer in Cleveland history. His dramatic two-run shot in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the World Series off Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman tied the score 6-6 before Chicago scored two in the 10th.The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '