Jan. 23, 2025

The Justice Department’s Investigation into the Louisiana State Police

The Justice Department’s Investigation into the Louisiana State Police

In this episode, Jim explores the nearly 3 year investigation initiated by the United States Justice Department into the Louisiana State Police (LSP) regarding numerous allegations of excessive force.

Chapters
05:42 Investigation Results Released...

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Season 7

In this episode, Jim explores the nearly 3 year investigation initiated by the United States Justice Department into the Louisiana State Police (LSP) regarding numerous allegations of excessive force.

Chapters
05:42 Investigation Results Released
10:14 Background on Louisiana State Police
15:27 Findings of the Investigation
16:43 Understanding Excessive Force
19:54 Use of Tasers
22:44 Unreasonable Force Without Warning
28:43 Use of Force on Non-Threatening Individuals
33:51 Poor Supervision and Accountability
38:03 Under-Reporting of Use of Force
41:00 Pursuit Practices and Their Consequences
43:35 Training and Aggressive Behavior
45:54 Failure to Investigate Complaints

Sources
https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1384626/dl

#louisianastatepolice #louisiana #investigation #justicedepartment #podcast #bloodyangola

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WEBVTT

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I walk straight line shackle change, Oh weesome, gird, it's

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calling my name. There is nu mercy and it's been

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a tentery juice as the huge stream game Wrangle three.

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Come here but.

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By me to die inside these walls, inside the wild.

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And went no girl as I. Hey everyone, and welcome

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back to Bloody and Gola, a podcast one and forty

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two years in the making. The complete story of America's

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Bloody is present. I'm Jim Chapman, and we're back with

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another episode of Bloody and Gola. Look, I had a

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totally different episode playing for today and some breaking news

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out of the state of Louisiana came out that was

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pretty significant. Now, this relates to an investigatoration that actually

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started back in twenty twenty two against the Louisiana State Police.

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It was initiated by the Justice Department, and if you'll remember,

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it was just a few episodes ago, I covered a

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lawsuit that was filed after an investigation into the Bureau

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of Prisons and the Louisiana prison system from the Department

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of Justice. Well, they've wrapped up another one and I

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think it's something all our listeners would find interesting, So

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we'll start out with when this investigation first kicked off,

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and back on June ninth of twenty twenty two, the

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Justice Department announced an investigation into the Louisiana State Police,

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and I'm going to refer to the press release that

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they put out at that time. The Justice Department announced

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today that it has opened a pattern or practice investigation

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into the Louisiana State Police. This investigation will assess whether

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LSP used excessive force in whether it engages in racially

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discriminatory policing. The investigation will include a comprehensive review of

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LSP policies, training, supervision, and force investigations, as well as

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the LSP systems of accountability, including misconduct, complaint intake, investigation, review, disposition,

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and discipline. And then it goes into I guess you

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could say why you shouldn't use excessive force things of

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that nature. Now, it's important to keep in mind that

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at this time when this started, we had a completely

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different governor here in the state of Louisiana. It was

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John Bell Edwards. We actually had a completely different colonel

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at the Louisiana State Police at the time, it was

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Lamar Davis. So at that time June ninth, of twenty

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twenty two. There was a response from Governor John Bell

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Edwards and Colonel Lamar Davis and I'll cover that, and

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the response was Today, the Governor's office and Louisiana State

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Police were briefed on the US Department of Justice civil

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investigation into the patterns and practices of the Louisiana State Police.

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Both Governor Edwards and LSP Colonel Lamar Davis pledge their

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support and cooperation with this federal investigation into the agency.

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Governor Edwards said, I welcome the US Department of Justice

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civil investigation into the pattern of practice of the Louisiana

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State Police. It's deeply troubling that allegations of systematic misconduct

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exist that will warrant this type of investigation, But it

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is absolutely critical that all Louisianas, especially African Americans and

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other people of color, have their faith, confidence, and trust

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in public safety officers restored. This investigation is one part

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of that process. I share the Department of Justice goal

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of ensuring the Louisiana State Police or policing in a

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constitutional way. It is my expectation in that all employees

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of the Louisiana State Police will cooperate fully, and he

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kind of goes on and on with that, Colonel Lamar

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Davis said, since accepting the position of the Louisiana State

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Police Superintendent, I vowed to regain the trust of our citizens.

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Our law enforcement partners are political leaders, and the men

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and women of our agency. The Department of Public Safety

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is comprised of over a thousand dedicated men and women

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within our commission rank. Each of them displays selfless service,

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courage of integrity on a daily basis, and he kind

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of goes on and on with that. So great, everybody's

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cooperating with this investigation. Well, look, it took a while.

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I'm surprised it took as long as it did. But yesterday,

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January sixteenth, twenty twenty five, guess what, the United States

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Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the US Attorney's

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Offices released the investigation results into the Louisiana State Police.

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We're going to cover that today. I have it right

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in front of me, and we're going to start off

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with the executive summary that they released with all of

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these investigations. It says on the evening of May tenth,

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twenty nineteen, near Monroe Louisiana. A Louisiana State Police trooper

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tried to stop a forty nine year old black man

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by the name of Ronald Green for speeding and running

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a red light. Mister Green drove away for fourteen minutes.

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Officers pursued him until he lost control of his vehicle,

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crashing on the side of the road. According to a

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sergeant that LSP regarded as its in house use of

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force expert, what happened in the ensuing hours, weeks, and

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months was a catastrophic failure in a million different directions

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quote unquote. Multiple LSP troopers and sheriff's deputies arrived at

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the scene of the crash. They tased mister Green repeatedly

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and pulled him out of his car. They punched him,

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dragged him by his ankle shackles, and left him face

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down in the road. When mister Green tried to roll

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onto his stomach, a trooper put his foot on mister

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Green's buttocks to hold him down on his stomach. The

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trooper later told a supervisor, I'm trying to keep him

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laying down. I was going to sit him up, but

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I don't want him spitting blood all over us. Mister

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Green pleaded, I'm scared. I'm your brother, I'm scared. The

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LSP troopers deactivated and or muted their body worn cameras.

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When a supervisor arrived, he casually stepped over mister Green,

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who lay moaning on the ground, and instead asked the

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troopers if they were okay. None of the troopers rendered

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aid to mister Green, who became unresponsive and died before

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he reached the hospital. After mister Green died, troopers file

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reports attributing his death to a car accident. We investigate

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crashes every day. One trooper later told us, no way

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someone died from a car crash with that damage. One

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trooper who was there misdated the incident in an official report.

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Lsp's designated use of force expert at the time believed

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that it was a deliberate attempt to cover up the incident.

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Another trooper miscategorized the camera footage in LSP system, and

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the trooper who stepped over mister Green's body that night

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signed off on all use of force reports. Over fifteen

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months passed before LSP opened an internal affairs investigation into

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mister Green's death. In the intervening days of Moss, LLSP

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troopers including the one involved in mister Green's death would

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go on to assault more drivers. It was not until

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September of twenty twenty, sixteen months after the incident, that

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LSP fired one of the troopers involved. It would take

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until twenty twenty one for LSP to suspend a second

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trooper and fire a third who was involved in both

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mister Green's death and an assault of a different black man.

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Mister Green's death and its aftermath demonstrated serious failures at

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LSP excessive force and proper supervision and effective training and

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breakdowns and accountability. As our civil pattern or practice investigation revealed,

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these failures were not isolated, but part of a larger

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practice or pattern of law enforcement conduct that deprives people

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in Louisiana their rights under the Constitution. Following a comprehensive investigation,

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the Department of Justice has reasonable cause to believe that

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the Louisiana State Police engaged in a statewide pattern or

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practice of using excessive force, which violates the Fourth Amendment.

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Our investigation, opened in twenty twenty two, also includes examining

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whether LLSP engaged in racially discriminatory policing. At this time,

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we make findings only as to excessive force. Though this

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investigation reveals systematic problems, we recognize that most LSP troopers

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work hard to keep the public safe. We commend LSP

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troopers and staff who defaith their professional lives to serving

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the community. LUSP began making much needed reforms after the

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video of mister Green's death became public in twenty twenty one,

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two years after the incident. We believe those changes may

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have been contributed to some recent improvement in use of

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force practices. The changes include revising lsp's use of force policy,

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creating a Force Investigation Unit to investigate serious uses of force,

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and updating training programs. However, more reforms are needed to

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remedy the unlawful conduct we found. We describe recommended changes

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at the end of this report, and we hope to

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work constructively with the state and LSP to implement the reform.

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So there you have kind of a brief overview of

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why this investigation was opened and pretty disturbing stuff, right. So,

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let me give you a little bit of background on LSP.

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Spread across sixty four parishes and covering more than fifty

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two thousand square miles, Louisiana is home to over four

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point six million people. Louisiana has several large cities, including

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New Orleans, Shreeport, Lafayette, and its capital, Baton Roudge. The

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state's population is approximately fifty six percent white, thirty one

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percent Black, seven percent Hispanic, in two percent Asian. Founded

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in nineteen thirty six, LSP is responsible for highway safety

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and criminal enforcement throughout the state alongside local sheriffs and

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city police departments. LSP also assists with disaster recovery in

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providing law enforcement support for major events like the NBA

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All Star Game in Maudi Gras. Over thirteen hundred people

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serve in LSP, both as troopers and civilian law enforcement professionals.

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LSP is headed by a Superintendent, who is currently Robert Hodges,

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who is appointed by the Secretary of the Department of

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Public Safety and Corrections and confirmed by the state Senate.

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LSP superintendent has the rank of colonel. An assistant superintendant

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serves as lsp's second in command for deputy superintendents each

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oversee a major area of lsp's operations and report to

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the assistant superintendent. The uniformed troopers that patrol Louisiana roads

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are organized into ten troops that cover different parishes around

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the state. The troops are grouped into three regions, each

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commanded by a major. LSP has policed New Orleans on

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and off over the years, and in January of twenty

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twenty four, now Governor Jeff Landry announced plans to form

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a new troop in New Orleans called Troop NOLA. LSP

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has several statewide units. The Criminal Investigation Division investigates crimes

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around the state. The Force Investigation Unit investigates serious use

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of force by troopers, and the Internal Affairs Unit is

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responsible for investigating potential policy violations by troopers and civilian

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law enforcement professionals. Then it goes in two recent events,

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Ronald Green's death on May tenth of twenty nineteen is

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far from the only instance of lsp's excessive force that

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has made headlines. In July of twenty eighteen, a trooper

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shot and paralyzed a white teenager who was a passenger

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in a car stopped for a minor traffic violation when

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he tried to run away from the car. In March

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of twenty nineteen, a trooper grabbed a black man in

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his early twenties by his hair and repeatedly slammed his

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head into the hood of a car. In May of

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twenty nineteen, a trooper hit a handcuffed forty five year

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old black man eighteen times with a flashlight as other

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troopers watch, breaking his jaw rest in three ribs. In

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July of twenty nineteen, troopers handcuffed a black man, slammed

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him against a police car, threw him to the ground,

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and repeatedly punched and kneed him. In May of twenty twenty,

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at least seven troopers, including one who was involved in

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Ronald Green's death, gave a twenty nine year old black

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man auote unquote whooping that would give him nightmares for

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a long time quote unquote. As the troopers later wrote

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in text messages, one trooper told him, quote, I'm gonna

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punish you, you dumb bitch unquote. Troopers pulled his hair,

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punched him, and repeatedly hit him in the head with

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a flashlight. In October of twenty twenty, LSP Superintendent Colonel

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Kevin Reaves announced his retirement in the wake of public

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reports about excessive force and delayed accountability. At the time,

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media outlets reported the troopers were using racially derogatory language

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including one trooper who was never disciplined calling a coworker

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a fucking in word, and it says the word. In

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the following years, Colonel Lamar Davis led LSP and implemented reforms,

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including revamping its use of force policy and updating a

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training academy's approach and curriculum. LSP also engaged in outside

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policing experts to assess lsp's policies, procedures, practices, culture, and training.

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LSP issued a report on the assessment in October of

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twenty twenty three, which identified problems with training, force and accountability,

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as well as data collection and analysis, and other areas,

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and recommended further reform. Following Colonel Davis's retirement in January

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twenty twenty four, Colonel Robert Hodges took over as lsp's

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twenty eight superintendent. So it goes then into the investigation,

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and it says the Department of Justice opened this investigation

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in twenty twenty two to determine whether LSP engaged in

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a pattern or practice of unlawful conduct that deprive people

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of their rights. We conducted our investigation to ensure a thorough,

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independent and fair assessment of LSP. We interviewed current and

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former command staff. We visited troops across Louisiana that with

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supervisors and operational staff from Key Headquartered to visions, and

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we also participated in dozens of ride alongs with troopers

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around the state and observe academy training sessions. They held

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town halls, they reviewed LSP records including policies, et cetera.

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And they in this note say they want to thank

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LSP for cooperating, so that state police were cooperating obviously

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with all of this. So let's get into the meat

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of it, and that is the findings. What did they

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find in the investigations. Well, it says we have reasonable

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00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:36.360
cause to believe that LSP engages in a statewide pattern

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or practice of excessive force that violates the Fourth Amendment.

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And it kind of goes on to define excessive force.

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And I think it's important that I read this so

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you can get a grasp of what the difference is

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because there may be kind of a fine line there.

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In some cases. It says the use of excessive force

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by an officer violates the Fourth Amendment. Whether an officer's

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00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:04.599
use of forces constitutional is based on the totality of

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the circumstances and must be assessed by looking at whether

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the officer's actions are objectively reasonable in light of the

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facts and circumstances particular to each case. In making this assessment,

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00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:22.720
relevant factors include whether the suspect posed an immediate threat

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00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.240
to the safety of the officer, the severity of the

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00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:30.680
crime at issue, whether the suspect is actively resisting or

246
00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:34.839
attempting to evade arrest by flight. Deadly force is permissible

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00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:37.759
only when an officer has probable cause to believe that

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a suspect poses an immediate threat of serious harm to

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the officer or another person. In the fifth circuit, analysis

250
00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:49.079
as to the reasonableness of a use of deadly force

251
00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:52.599
should be confined to whether the officer or other persons

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00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:55.680
were in danger at the moment of the threat that

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resulted in the officer's use of deadly force. And it

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goes on to give some stats. From twenty eighteen to

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00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:06.400
twenty twenty three, LSP officers reported more than thirteen hundred

256
00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:10.839
uses of force. We reviewed every LSP shooting and hundreds

257
00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:14.839
of randomly selected force incidents from twenty eighteen to twenty

258
00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:19.119
twenty three, and reviewed each incident by watching body worn

259
00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:23.559
and in camera footage and reading related reports and documents,

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we found that Louisiana State troopers across the state use

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00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:33.400
excessive force. Though lsp's use of unreasonable force was not

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00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:36.759
limited to any one type of force, we found that

263
00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:43.000
lsp's use of tasers was particularly concerning. We also found

264
00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:47.480
that troopers use excessive force to immediately control encounters, often

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00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:50.720
within the first few moments of encountering a person, and

266
00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:55.400
without giving the person warning or opportunity to comply. They

267
00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:58.839
also used force on those who, because they are restrained

268
00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:01.640
or otherwise on able, but to fleet, do not pose

269
00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:06.279
a threat or flight risk. Additionally, LSP uses successive force

270
00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:09.400
on people who run from troopers, even when that person

271
00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:14.160
is only suspected of a misdemeanor. This successive force violates

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00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:17.640
the Fourth Amendment, as discussed below. We also found that

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00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:22.960
specific practices or policies escalate situations, making the use of

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00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:26.440
force more likely. So they brought up tasers, and they

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00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:30.279
get into detail on that. It says LSP troopers across

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00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:34.200
the state quickly resort to tasers when it's not reasonable

277
00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:38.240
to do so. A senior LSP leader explained to us

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00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:41.720
that once troopers begin to carry tasers, they were more

279
00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:46.400
likely to escalate from verbal engagement directly to tasing a person,

280
00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:50.559
rather than trying to control someone with lower levels of force.

281
00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:54.640
We saw that pattern play out in the incidents we reviewed.

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00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.640
LSP troopers unreasonably used tasers without warning and against people

283
00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:03.480
who are restrained and did not pose a threat. For example,

284
00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:08.400
an LSP trooper stunned an unarmed man in the back

285
00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:11.359
with a taser while he was lying face down, surrounded

286
00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:15.160
by at least five officers. The trooper went to the

287
00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:18.039
scene to help a local Sheriff's department with a traffic

288
00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:22.160
stop for improper lane usage. We may arrive the driver

289
00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:27.440
had already pulled over and numerous local shaff's deputies were present.

290
00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:30.440
Officers told the man to exit the vehicle put his

291
00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:33.319
hands up. When he did not promptly get out of

292
00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:37.160
his car, the sheriff's deputies and the LSP trooper charged

293
00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:40.440
forward with their guns pointed to him. The officers opened

294
00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:43.400
the door and immediately pulled the man out, even before

295
00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:46.119
they told him to put his hands behind his back,

296
00:20:46.200 --> 00:20:48.839
and before he was completely out of the vehicle, the

297
00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:53.200
trooper demanded tase him. Tase him with the driver pinned

298
00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:56.519
face down on the ground and surrounded by officers. The

299
00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:59.480
LSP trooper pulled up the man's shirt and used his

300
00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:04.839
taser to drive stun the man's bare back. The driver

301
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.680
repeatedly asked what he had done and explained, it's a rental.

302
00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:11.559
I didn't even know how to open the door. The

303
00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:15.839
trooper's use of force was excessive. You think the driver

304
00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:19.319
did not pose an immediate threat to anyone's safety, was

305
00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:23.119
not armed, did not actively resist arrest, and did not

306
00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:27.000
attempt to run. Following the incident, the driver was unable

307
00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:30.359
to walk and was dragged by deputies to a patrol unit.

308
00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:33.480
His clothes were ripped and he was bruised, but there

309
00:21:33.559 --> 00:21:37.240
were also longer term effects. He reported that he became

310
00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:41.279
depressed and angry and has frequent flashbacks. He was ultimately

311
00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:44.640
charged with nothing more than improper lane usage, and the

312
00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:47.480
trooper explained in his use of force report that the

313
00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:51.559
stop was for changing lanes without a signal. That's insane.

314
00:21:51.599 --> 00:21:55.759
We also reviewed incidents in which LSP troopers unreasonably used

315
00:21:55.799 --> 00:21:59.960
tasers on people who fled from them without additional justification

316
00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:04.400
for using force. The use of tasers presents a serious

317
00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:06.960
risk of harm. In addition to pain caused by the

318
00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:11.400
electric shock and probes, tasers may cause seizures, feigning, or

319
00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:15.640
loss of control, which can result in injuries from falls,

320
00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:20.079
including bone fractures and even death. Muscle contractions caused by

321
00:22:20.119 --> 00:22:25.440
tasers can result in hernia, ruptures, dislocation, tear, or other injuries.

322
00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:29.519
Tasers can also cause changes in blood pressure, respiration, and

323
00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:34.960
heart rate. Tasing someone repeatedly or for prolong periods will

324
00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:38.279
compound these risks. So then it goes on to discuss

325
00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:43.359
some situations where LSP used unreasonable force without warning or

326
00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:49.559
opportunity to comply. LSP troopers rapidly use unreasonable force, sometimes

327
00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:53.599
within the first few seconds of an encounter. In multiple cases,

328
00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:57.759
troopers issued a command two or three times in rapid succession,

329
00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:01.759
like show me your ID or here, and then suddenly

330
00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:06.200
grabbed or tackled a person. Troopers used excessive force not

331
00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:09.880
to stop someone from escaping or protect themselves, but because

332
00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:15.119
a person did not immediately follow the trooper's command. For example,

333
00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:18.519
in one case we interviewed, a trooper slammed a bar

334
00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:21.240
patron to the ground when he failed to provide his

335
00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:25.079
ID quickly enough for the trooper. The man who was

336
00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:28.160
accused of slapping a bar employee was standing on the

337
00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:32.440
sidewalk outside the bar when the trooper arrived. The trooper

338
00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:35.000
asked him for his ID, but the man, who did

339
00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:39.400
appear innebreated, remained silent, shaking his head no and putting

340
00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:42.720
his hands out palms up in front of him, then

341
00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:47.079
crossing his arms. The man posed no immediate threat. Rather

342
00:23:47.160 --> 00:23:50.599
than explaining the reason for request or trying to persuade

343
00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:54.039
the man to cooperate, the trooper immediately grabbed the man's

344
00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:58.160
arm forced him to the ground, injuring his nose. Now, yes,

345
00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:02.319
that's wrong, will agree with that that trooper handled that wrong,

346
00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:05.960
But looks as someone on the other side of that

347
00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:08.440
comply man. If they ask you for your fucking ID,

348
00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:12.200
give him your ID, don't sing no in full j arms.

349
00:24:12.680 --> 00:24:16.079
But it doesn't make what he did right. It's the

350
00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:20.240
trooper's responsibility to try to de escalate and get the

351
00:24:20.279 --> 00:24:24.240
guy to cooperate, I guess. In another incident, a trooper

352
00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:28.920
unreasonably tased an unarmed pedestrian before giving him an order

353
00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.599
to get out of a car. The trooper was looking

354
00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:34.119
for a stolen vehicle and stopped a man and asked

355
00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:36.759
him where he lived. The trooper did not explain what

356
00:24:36.920 --> 00:24:39.839
he was looking for or why he was questioning the man.

357
00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:43.640
The man ignored the trooper's questions and instead ran away

358
00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:46.319
and got in the passenger seat of a parked car.

359
00:24:46.759 --> 00:24:50.000
The trooper followed the man with his taser drawn, shouting

360
00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:53.480
I'm about to kill your ass. He then opened the

361
00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:57.119
driver's side door and tased the man, who by then

362
00:24:57.160 --> 00:25:00.440
had raised his hands in submission. The trooper tas the

363
00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:04.119
man repeatedly while shouting at him to get out. In total,

364
00:25:04.200 --> 00:25:07.839
the trooper tased the man seven times in less than

365
00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:10.279
a minute before he removed the man from the car

366
00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:13.880
and put him in handcuffs. Then it goes into lspus's

367
00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:16.920
force on people who are not a threat, and it

368
00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:20.839
says LSP troopers use excessive force on people who do

369
00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:24.640
not present an immediate threat, including people who cannot flee

370
00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:28.759
because they are restrained or otherwise trapped. For example, in

371
00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:34.240
one instant, a LSP trooper tased an uncooperative driver multiple

372
00:25:34.279 --> 00:25:38.559
times after a serious traffic accident. When troopers responded to

373
00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:41.400
the side of the crash, the driver refused to come

374
00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:44.160
out of his returned vehicle. Once the man was out

375
00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:46.920
of the car, he tensed and pulled his arms away

376
00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:50.960
to avoid being handcuffed by an assisting law enforcement officer

377
00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:54.480
who mistake number one for that guy. The trooper tackled

378
00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:56.599
him to the ground and punched him in the head

379
00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:00.599
while the other officers handcuffed the man. The trooper then

380
00:26:00.839 --> 00:26:04.440
tased the handcuffed man again without warning when the man

381
00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:07.000
would not lift his legs to be hog tied in

382
00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:09.640
the back seat of the trooper's vehicle. He was not

383
00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:12.720
posing a threat to the trooper or attempting to flee

384
00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:15.640
at the time. Just prior to the man had fallen

385
00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:18.480
headfirst from the back seat of the trooper's vehicle, and

386
00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:21.880
though he had initially kicked when the trooper attempted to

387
00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:25.319
place the legs restraints on him, he was no longer

388
00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:30.279
doing so. Law enforcement organizations advise officers to avoid leaving

389
00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:33.400
someone restrained on their stomach, as it posed a serious

390
00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:37.359
risk of suffocation, but the trooper left the man hogtied

391
00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:39.519
on his stomach in the back of the vehicle for

392
00:26:39.559 --> 00:26:43.200
almost an hour, with his ankles and wrest handcuffed and

393
00:26:43.319 --> 00:26:47.440
tied together behind his back. In another incident, a LSP

394
00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:51.319
trooper working with a local police department dragged a twenty

395
00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:54.119
five year old woman and a young child from a car.

396
00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:58.519
The woman was having a mental health crisis. Officer stopped

397
00:26:58.519 --> 00:27:03.599
her because she was a reported causing disturbances as multiple officers.

398
00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:05.559
He yelled at the woman and grabbed her in her

399
00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:10.039
screaming child. An LSP trooper tased the woman to make

400
00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:13.640
her let go of her child. The woman fell and

401
00:27:13.720 --> 00:27:17.440
thrashed her legs in the air following the initial taser use,

402
00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:20.480
although she was on the ground, surrounded by at least

403
00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:24.960
eight officers and unarmed. With no warning, an LSP trooper

404
00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:28.000
tased the woman a second time in front of the

405
00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:31.839
crying child. Enough officers were at the scene to control

406
00:27:31.880 --> 00:27:34.880
the woman and take her into custody, but they used

407
00:27:34.920 --> 00:27:39.680
a taser as a first option rather than a last resort,

408
00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:43.960
and failed to attempt any de escalation before using force.

409
00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:48.359
In another incident, an LSP officer pulled a woman who

410
00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:51.400
posed those right face down into the dirt on the

411
00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:54.000
side of the highway because she tried to use her

412
00:27:54.119 --> 00:27:57.680
phone after the trooper stopped her for following the vehicle

413
00:27:57.799 --> 00:28:01.039
in front of her too closely and pulled over and

414
00:28:01.160 --> 00:28:04.480
answer questions. The trooper agreed the woman could use her

415
00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:07.799
cell phone to call her mom to get the vehicle's registration,

416
00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:11.359
but when the woman refused to sign a form consenting

417
00:28:11.400 --> 00:28:14.480
to a search, the trooper apparently changed his mind about

418
00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:16.720
her use of the phone, even though she had been

419
00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:19.960
using it in front of him without an objection. When

420
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:22.400
the woman tried to call her mom again, the trooper

421
00:28:22.519 --> 00:28:25.119
reached for the woman's phone to stop her from making

422
00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:27.880
the call and dragged her to the ground, twisting her

423
00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:30.440
arm and pushing her onto the ground on the side

424
00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:33.559
of a busy highway so that she had dirt in

425
00:28:33.640 --> 00:28:37.240
her mouth. Then it goes into LSB trooper's use excessive

426
00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:40.640
force when people run, even when they are handcuffed or

427
00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:45.640
suspected of only minor misdemeanor violations. As noted above, When

428
00:28:45.680 --> 00:28:48.559
assessing whether a use of force is reasonable, courts look

429
00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:52.319
at other factors, including whether the person attempted to evade

430
00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:55.759
arrest by fleeing, as well as other factors like severity

431
00:28:55.759 --> 00:28:59.880
of the suspected crime and whether a person posed a threat.

432
00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:03.559
Behavior that appears evasive could of course have any number

433
00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:08.839
of innocent explanations. There are undeniably incidents in which a

434
00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:13.079
person runs for entirely innocent reasons, Thus using force on

435
00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:17.519
people who flee without additional justification can be unreasonable. Yet

436
00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:22.880
troopers reflexively use force and punish people who run away

437
00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:27.480
with little or no additional justification for doing so, then

438
00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:31.079
it gives examples. For instance, in one incident, a trooper

439
00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:34.359
tased a thirty year old man biking through a city

440
00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:38.119
at night without lights. According to the filed report, the

441
00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:41.480
trooper and his partner attempted to stop a cyclist to

442
00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:44.119
explain to him the dangers of operating a bike at

443
00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:47.000
night on a dark roadway. The trooper turned on the

444
00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:51.000
emergency lights, but the man continued to peddle. The trooper

445
00:29:51.160 --> 00:29:54.480
in the passenger seat, rolled his window down and asked

446
00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:57.519
the cyclist to pull the bike over. The cyclist asked

447
00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:00.960
for what, then dropped his bike and ran. The troopers

448
00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:04.240
ran after him, and seconds later they tased him in

449
00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:08.680
the back. In another incident, a Louisiana State Police trooper

450
00:30:08.759 --> 00:30:11.559
tased an unarmed man after pulling him over for not

451
00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:15.359
signaling while changing lanes, not wearing a seat belt, and

452
00:30:15.400 --> 00:30:19.680
having a fake vehicle inspectionion sticker. The man was handcuffed

453
00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:23.039
and shoelas at the time. After pulling up a picture

454
00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:25.920
of the person to whom the car was registered, the

455
00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:29.200
troopers became suspicious as they did not believe the driver

456
00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:32.640
resembled the owner of the vehicle. When asked, the driver

457
00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:36.200
did not produce the driver's license and hesitated when producing

458
00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:39.200
his day to birth. Before he could finish answering the

459
00:30:39.240 --> 00:30:44.000
troopers question, troopers grabbed the man, handcuffed and searched him.

460
00:30:44.519 --> 00:30:46.920
As the troopers were walking the man to the back

461
00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:50.200
of the patrol car, he attempted to run. All three

462
00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:52.880
troopers who were on the scene chased after him. Within

463
00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:56.839
six seconds, a trooper tased the man. Unable to break

464
00:30:56.839 --> 00:30:59.720
his fall, he fell backward onto the pavement, hitting his

465
00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:03.880
head back and cutting his elbow so severely he needed stitches.

466
00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:07.880
Troopers have admitted to using significant force based on flight

467
00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:11.200
alone without additional evidence that the person was a threat.

468
00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:13.759
A trooper explained to a colleague that he did not

469
00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:17.200
know if the pedestrian he had just tasted seven times

470
00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:20.519
had anything to do with our pursuit, but that he

471
00:31:20.759 --> 00:31:23.519
took off running when we went to talk to him.

472
00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:27.160
Then it gets into the poor supervision that contributes to

473
00:31:27.240 --> 00:31:31.440
the lsp's use of excessive force. It says, in one example,

474
00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:36.559
lsp's failure to identify and correct an unreasonable force later

475
00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:39.880
proved deadly. After pulling over an eighteen year old for

476
00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:43.400
a switched temporary tag and speeding, the trooper approached the

477
00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:46.000
car with his gun drawn and ordered him out of

478
00:31:46.039 --> 00:31:49.839
the vehicle. The team complied, got onto his stomach when ordered,

479
00:31:49.880 --> 00:31:53.200
and stretched his arms out to the side as instructed.

480
00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:56.680
The team was holding his cell phone but had no weapons,

481
00:31:57.119 --> 00:32:00.000
even though he was not threatening the trooper and only

482
00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:03.599
he questioned some of the troopers' commands. The trooper reportedly

483
00:32:03.799 --> 00:32:06.839
yelled at the teen to stop looking at him. At

484
00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:09.839
one point, with his gun still drawing, the trooper screamed,

485
00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:12.799
don't look at me, look away. Do it again, motherfucker,

486
00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:15.440
and I'm gonna light you up. The trooper holstered his

487
00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:18.079
gun and drew his taser. He then yelled at the teen,

488
00:32:18.200 --> 00:32:20.680
do you understand that if you look at me again,

489
00:32:20.839 --> 00:32:22.839
I'm gonna take it as a threat and I'm gonna

490
00:32:22.839 --> 00:32:26.680
tase you. The trooper then radio dispatch and said send

491
00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:29.359
me another unit. I'm fixing to tase him because he's

492
00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:32.559
not doing what I'm telling him to do. The teen

493
00:32:32.720 --> 00:32:35.240
asked if he could call his mother and brother. After

494
00:32:35.319 --> 00:32:39.240
not following the trooper's instructions about sliding his cellphone away

495
00:32:39.400 --> 00:32:43.119
several times, the teen scrambled to his feet and started

496
00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:46.680
to dart away. The trooper tased him from behind, striking

497
00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:49.480
his leg. The teen stood up with his hands in

498
00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:53.200
front of him after pulling out the taser probe and said, man,

499
00:32:53.640 --> 00:32:57.680
why did you do that? Sir? Stop? Man stop. After

500
00:32:57.759 --> 00:33:00.680
directing the teenager to get on the ground, the trooper

501
00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:04.720
fired his taser again, striking the teen in the torso.

502
00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:09.960
The teenager's body involuntarily stiffened as he fell flat onto

503
00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:13.680
the pavement. While the teenager screamed in pain on the ground,

504
00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:17.599
the trooper yelled stay on the ground, stop resisting. The

505
00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:22.119
teenager responded, I'm not resisting. Without warning, the trooper tasted

506
00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:25.839
him a third time. The trooper then approached the teen

507
00:33:26.039 --> 00:33:29.440
and sprayed chemical sprayed directly into his face. I would

508
00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:33.240
imagine that's freeze plus p. The team complied with the

509
00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:36.319
trooper's order to put his hands behind his back. A

510
00:33:36.519 --> 00:33:40.240
second trooper he muted his body worn camera after arriving

511
00:33:40.279 --> 00:33:44.400
on the scene, arrived and began kneeling on the eighteen

512
00:33:44.440 --> 00:33:48.039
year old's neck. The first trooper handcuffed the teen, then

513
00:33:48.119 --> 00:33:51.480
started twisting his rust and telling him to stop resisting.

514
00:33:51.880 --> 00:33:55.400
The teen said, my neck, I can't breathe. The original

515
00:33:55.400 --> 00:33:59.200
trooper said, your neck is fine. After the troopers pulled

516
00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:01.279
him to his feet, the team asked to wipe the

517
00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:04.880
chemical spray from his face. The first trooper said, we'll

518
00:34:05.119 --> 00:34:07.079
wash you off when we get to the jail. It

519
00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:09.679
would be more than twenty minutes before the trooper took

520
00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:13.159
the team to that jail. The first trooper then handed

521
00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:15.960
his body worn camera to the second trooper and said,

522
00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:18.159
I don't know if this thing is on met or not.

523
00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:23.360
The second trooper then muted the camera. Later, when driving

524
00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:26.280
the eighteen year old to the local jail, the first

525
00:34:26.320 --> 00:34:29.400
trooper said, I could have just run up there and

526
00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:33.400
beat your ass. It would have been totally justified, and

527
00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:36.239
I didn't. I just wanted to take the time to

528
00:34:36.280 --> 00:34:39.039
give you the chance to do what you're supposed to do.

529
00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:42.400
After the incident, the trooper told staff of the jail,

530
00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:44.800
I hate to bring you one. That's all freyed up

531
00:34:44.920 --> 00:34:48.119
like that. The troopers written use of force report is

532
00:34:48.239 --> 00:34:51.320
riddled with statements that are inconsistent with the camera footage

533
00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:56.199
from the incident. Despite numerous policy violations and the unconstitutional

534
00:34:56.360 --> 00:35:00.159
use of force, there is no evidence of meaningful supervisor

535
00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:05.320
review of the incideut systematic failures and supervision include ineffective

536
00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:10.559
force reviews, deficiencies and policies and training, chronic underreporting of force,

537
00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:15.400
and failure to provide appropriate supervisory tools, and they say

538
00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:21.159
LSP supervisors do not conduct meaningful force reviews. Although LSP

539
00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:24.960
has updated its policies and improved its information systems to

540
00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:29.519
make force reporting more efficient, the lack of meaningful supervisory

541
00:35:29.559 --> 00:35:34.159
force reviews and oversight persisted. Rather than conduct meaningful reviews,

542
00:35:34.199 --> 00:35:38.920
supervisor weight for criminal and administrative investigations to run their

543
00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:43.559
course before taking preventative action. One former high ranking LSP

544
00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:46.840
official described the video of mister Green's death as an

545
00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:52.280
absolute disgust, embarrassment that officers spoke that way and the

546
00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:56.280
excessive force used. It was just an uneasy feeling. Yet,

547
00:35:56.360 --> 00:36:00.920
in response to repeated questions from various legislators, he cannot

548
00:36:00.920 --> 00:36:04.880
recall any recommendations he made or other action taken to

549
00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.119
protect the public beyond the start of an investigation. For example,

550
00:36:09.519 --> 00:36:13.159
the troopers were not placed on administrative leave or assigned

551
00:36:13.239 --> 00:36:17.599
additional supervision in the field. A training supervisor involved in

552
00:36:17.639 --> 00:36:21.679
the force review process testified that he learned that one

553
00:36:21.719 --> 00:36:24.280
of the troopers had not been placed on administrative leave

554
00:36:24.519 --> 00:36:27.519
after Green's death when the trooper was involved in another

555
00:36:27.719 --> 00:36:32.880
troubling force incident a year later. So they really hammered

556
00:36:32.960 --> 00:36:37.599
down the fact that even when these incidents happen, it

557
00:36:37.679 --> 00:36:41.960
seems that the supervisors are not doing anything about it.

558
00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:45.119
And of course if you're not doing anything about it,

559
00:36:45.119 --> 00:36:47.360
it's going to continue. Right then. It goes into the

560
00:36:47.519 --> 00:36:52.199
underreporting of forces. Says troopers do not consistently report using

561
00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:55.400
force and supervisors failed to ensure the troopers under the

562
00:36:55.400 --> 00:37:00.280
command report force accurately and completely. Individual US use of

563
00:37:00.320 --> 00:37:04.159
force reports enable supervisory reviews and are the source for

564
00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:11.320
lsp's force statistics, which LSP reviews annually to identify policy, training,

565
00:37:11.400 --> 00:37:16.559
and equipment needs. LSB troopers significantly under report both deadly

566
00:37:16.679 --> 00:37:21.079
and non deadly force. We review video from randomly selected

567
00:37:21.480 --> 00:37:24.119
arrest around the state that did not appear to have

568
00:37:24.199 --> 00:37:27.519
an associated use of Force report. We identified a number

569
00:37:27.599 --> 00:37:30.639
of incidents in which troopers used force and did not

570
00:37:30.840 --> 00:37:34.079
report it at all, or where the incidents did not

571
00:37:34.159 --> 00:37:38.679
appear to be included in the internal force statistics or analysis.

572
00:37:39.039 --> 00:37:43.800
Such under reporting undermines lsp's efforts to identify trends in

573
00:37:43.920 --> 00:37:48.920
training opportunities. We also found instances where all the troopers

574
00:37:49.239 --> 00:37:52.920
filed use of force reports, they did not report all

575
00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:56.719
the force used. For example, a trooper did not report

576
00:37:56.800 --> 00:38:00.199
slamming a man's head into a car window and he

577
00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:04.199
pulled him over four tened window violations, though he did

578
00:38:04.320 --> 00:38:07.400
report using forced ope in the man's mouth and retrieve

579
00:38:07.480 --> 00:38:11.480
a small plastic bag with white powdered residue. According to

580
00:38:11.559 --> 00:38:15.880
the audit trail of the INCR video, the troopers direct

581
00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:19.239
supervisors signed off on the report, and they did not

582
00:38:19.360 --> 00:38:23.840
even review the video of the incident. The supervisors also

583
00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:27.920
did not document any concerns of questions about the force used,

584
00:38:28.079 --> 00:38:32.119
leaving the review section of the use of force report blank.

585
00:38:32.400 --> 00:38:36.679
Lsp's internal documents reflect an awareness within the agency that

586
00:38:36.760 --> 00:38:41.000
troopers under report force. Around early twenty twenty one, after

587
00:38:41.079 --> 00:38:45.280
footage of mister Green's death became public, the then Superintendent

588
00:38:45.400 --> 00:38:49.559
of LSP organized an internal audit team to review body

589
00:38:49.599 --> 00:38:53.239
worn and in camera footage from some troopers and troop

590
00:38:53.400 --> 00:38:57.639
F to identify legal violations. During that review, one member

591
00:38:57.639 --> 00:39:00.920
of the audit team analyzed lsp's use of force by

592
00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:03.960
the race of the subject of the force writing. Part

593
00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:06.519
of the problem, one could argue, is that our personnels

594
00:39:06.679 --> 00:39:10.079
under reports use of force incidents, so they acknowledged they

595
00:39:10.119 --> 00:39:12.880
had a problem right there. Then it goes into troopers

596
00:39:12.920 --> 00:39:16.719
failed to reassess the threats posed by individuals when using

597
00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:21.920
force following vehicle pursuits. The use of force following pursuits

598
00:39:22.079 --> 00:39:27.000
is not uncommon. LSP troopers engaged in nearly seven hundred

599
00:39:27.079 --> 00:39:30.320
vehicle pursuits in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three,

600
00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:34.719
averaging almost one pursuit per day over the two year period.

601
00:39:35.239 --> 00:39:38.559
At least ten percent of these pursuits resulted in use

602
00:39:38.599 --> 00:39:43.840
of force. Lsp's internal reporting acknowledges that twenty percent of

603
00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:48.079
use of force incidents statewide in twenty twenty two followed

604
00:39:48.119 --> 00:39:54.840
a vehicle pursuit. Lsp's policy gives troopers broad discretion to initiate,

605
00:39:54.920 --> 00:40:00.360
continue in terminate of pursuit. Although policy requires supervisors to

606
00:40:00.480 --> 00:40:04.920
monitor pursuits and call them off if conditions become too dangerous.

607
00:40:05.360 --> 00:40:08.760
One troop captain told us historically it was perceived as

608
00:40:08.800 --> 00:40:13.079
a negative to stop a pursuit. We reviewed a random

609
00:40:13.159 --> 00:40:17.280
sample of incidents in which LLSP troopers reported using force

610
00:40:17.440 --> 00:40:21.159
following pursueds in addition to the incidents we reviewed as

611
00:40:21.239 --> 00:40:24.159
part of our broader use of force sample or review

612
00:40:24.239 --> 00:40:29.280
found that LSP troopers routinely initiate and continue proceeds following

613
00:40:29.440 --> 00:40:35.440
minor traffic offenses, escalating minor infractions into dangerous incidents that

614
00:40:35.559 --> 00:40:40.599
sometimes resulted in unreasonable force. A former LSP leader told

615
00:40:40.639 --> 00:40:44.519
us that troopers tended to be hyped and aggressive during proceeds.

616
00:40:45.039 --> 00:40:48.800
Having been in those situations, he explained, your adrenaline kicks

617
00:40:48.840 --> 00:40:52.679
in and you get a more narrow scope. You're looking

618
00:40:52.880 --> 00:40:56.920
at threat from your lens. We need to find a

619
00:40:56.920 --> 00:41:01.119
way to escalate these situations as opposed to ramping them up.

620
00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:04.920
But our review found that instead of de escalating, troopers

621
00:41:05.199 --> 00:41:10.840
escalate situations by using force, including unreasonable force, after pursuits

622
00:41:10.880 --> 00:41:15.360
without evaluating whether a person who fled poses an additional

623
00:41:15.519 --> 00:41:18.719
or continued risk. And they give an example In one

624
00:41:18.800 --> 00:41:22.800
such incident, troopers and officers from another agency fired sixty

625
00:41:22.880 --> 00:41:25.960
one rounds at a vehicle stuck in the mud after

626
00:41:26.039 --> 00:41:29.519
the driver led police on a twenty eight minute through

627
00:41:29.599 --> 00:41:33.920
two parishes. The pursuit began when an LSP trooper attempted

628
00:41:33.920 --> 00:41:36.960
to stop the vehicle for speeding on the highway. The

629
00:41:37.079 --> 00:41:41.280
driver did not stop, and other officers joined in the chase.

630
00:41:41.360 --> 00:41:45.320
The driver continued fleeing after spike strips deployed by police

631
00:41:45.480 --> 00:41:49.280
impacted the vehicle's two front tires. It was not until

632
00:41:49.280 --> 00:41:51.639
the driver came to the end of a dead end

633
00:41:51.719 --> 00:41:55.519
dirt road and drove into a field that the vehicle stopped.

634
00:41:56.039 --> 00:41:59.559
Troopers and officers arrived and ordered the driver to exit

635
00:41:59.599 --> 00:42:03.719
the vehicle. The driver drove the vehicle backwards and forwards

636
00:42:03.760 --> 00:42:06.960
about five to ten feet in either direction before being

637
00:42:07.119 --> 00:42:10.320
coming stuck in the mud. Troopers asked for permission from

638
00:42:10.480 --> 00:42:13.800
LSP sergeant on the scene to shoot at the vehicle.

639
00:42:14.039 --> 00:42:16.400
The sergeant gave the order to take it out, and

640
00:42:16.440 --> 00:42:20.719
the sergeant, together with two LSP troopers and two local officers,

641
00:42:20.760 --> 00:42:24.280
fired at the vehicle from about fifteen to twenty feet away.

642
00:42:24.960 --> 00:42:29.400
After shooting at the vehicle, fifteen times with his handgun.

643
00:42:29.719 --> 00:42:32.840
One of the LSP troopers said he has no tires,

644
00:42:33.239 --> 00:42:37.079
he ain't going nowhere, and then he continued shooting nineteen

645
00:42:37.280 --> 00:42:41.719
more times with a rifle. After about twelve minutes, the

646
00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:44.800
sergeant approached the vehicle and used his baton to break

647
00:42:44.800 --> 00:42:48.239
the windows to gain entry into the vehicle. The driver

648
00:42:48.440 --> 00:42:51.800
sustained cuts on his arm from broken glass and was

649
00:42:51.880 --> 00:42:56.039
taken into custody. At the time troopers fired at the vehicle,

650
00:42:56.119 --> 00:42:59.639
the purceited ended and the driver was neither flee nor

651
00:42:59.760 --> 00:43:03.760
PoID using a threat that warned use of deadly force

652
00:43:03.880 --> 00:43:07.280
to apprehend him. In addition to leading to a necessary

653
00:43:07.320 --> 00:43:11.840
and sometimes unreasonable use of force, lsp's pursuit practices put

654
00:43:12.000 --> 00:43:15.079
the broader public at risk. In twenty twenty two and

655
00:43:15.159 --> 00:43:17.840
twenty twenty three, more than ten percent of the vehicle

656
00:43:17.880 --> 00:43:21.840
pursuits ended in a crash, on average one every ten days.

657
00:43:22.280 --> 00:43:27.039
These crashes can and do involve innocent bystanders. Then it

658
00:43:27.079 --> 00:43:31.760
goes into lsp's training and tactics encourage aggressive behavior and

659
00:43:31.880 --> 00:43:37.239
escalates encounters, making unnecessary force more likely. In the hundreds

660
00:43:37.280 --> 00:43:40.400
of hours of camera footage that we reviewed, it was

661
00:43:40.440 --> 00:43:44.039
apparent that some troopers perceived everyone to be a threat.

662
00:43:44.360 --> 00:43:48.880
We saw many incidents in which troopers used profane and

663
00:43:49.039 --> 00:43:52.079
unprofessional language, ordering people to get out of the fucking

664
00:43:52.159 --> 00:43:56.480
car or to show their fucking hands. Troopers also threaten people,

665
00:43:56.599 --> 00:43:59.599
saying they would blow your fucking head off or shoot

666
00:43:59.599 --> 00:44:04.000
your fat ass. In one example, after reviewing an incident

667
00:44:04.079 --> 00:44:06.760
in which a trooper screamed at a driver that he

668
00:44:06.800 --> 00:44:10.519
would shoot his fucking ass and then taste him numerous times,

669
00:44:10.599 --> 00:44:14.119
one supervisor noted that he understood the trooper was amped

670
00:44:14.239 --> 00:44:17.440
up and congratulated the trooper on a good job. This

671
00:44:17.559 --> 00:44:23.039
aggressive language, while not itself unconstitutional, escalates situation and often

672
00:44:23.079 --> 00:44:26.840
goes hand in hand with unnecessary force. In the incidents

673
00:44:26.920 --> 00:44:31.239
we reviewed, when troopers use aggressive or profane language in

674
00:44:31.320 --> 00:44:34.679
conjunction with force, it was more likely that at least

675
00:44:35.039 --> 00:44:40.039
one use of force was unreasonable. For example, troopers tased

676
00:44:40.079 --> 00:44:41.880
a man in the back while he was standing with

677
00:44:41.920 --> 00:44:44.079
his hands in the air, and then beat him with

678
00:44:44.239 --> 00:44:48.800
their fists, apparently in retaliation for attempting to evade capture.

679
00:44:49.239 --> 00:44:52.360
Four days before the incident, a female trooper had tried

680
00:44:52.360 --> 00:44:54.719
to arrest a man during a traffic stop, but he

681
00:44:54.800 --> 00:44:58.119
fled and escape. When troopers later went to the man's

682
00:44:58.159 --> 00:45:01.480
home with an arrest warrant, he fled again in his vehicle.

683
00:45:01.639 --> 00:45:04.719
When the vehicle finally stopped in a residential yard, the

684
00:45:04.760 --> 00:45:07.000
man got out of the car and turned to face

685
00:45:07.119 --> 00:45:10.760
it with his hands up. An LSP trooper tased him

686
00:45:10.760 --> 00:45:14.199
in the back. Five troopers, including some in playing clothes,

687
00:45:14.280 --> 00:45:16.840
and pinned him down, tased him and punched him more

688
00:45:16.880 --> 00:45:19.960
than twenty times in his head and body, even though

689
00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:24.000
he was restrained, unarmed, and did not appear to be resisting.

690
00:45:24.440 --> 00:45:27.079
One of the troopers grabbed the man's head and slammed

691
00:45:27.119 --> 00:45:29.800
it into the ground. Another trooper held his head in

692
00:45:29.880 --> 00:45:34.440
the dirt for approximately twenty seconds after many uses of force.

693
00:45:34.559 --> 00:45:37.039
When placing the man in the patrol car, a trooper

694
00:45:37.079 --> 00:45:39.840
told him, you're a piece of shit. You're a first

695
00:45:39.920 --> 00:45:42.719
rate fucking piece of shit. You want to try to

696
00:45:42.800 --> 00:45:47.599
run and fight a fucking girl. And it actually has

697
00:45:47.719 --> 00:45:52.000
pictures from that incident in the report, which I'm gonna

698
00:45:52.079 --> 00:45:55.440
link in the description of this video. Then it goes

699
00:45:55.519 --> 00:46:00.000
into lsp's failure to open investigations when people file complete

700
00:46:00.840 --> 00:46:05.639
for misconduct, says under LSP policing and investigation should be

701
00:46:05.679 --> 00:46:09.239
open when a person files a complaint making an allegation that,

702
00:46:09.400 --> 00:46:14.760
if true, would require disciplinary action in contravention of its

703
00:46:14.760 --> 00:46:17.719
own policy. Many of the complaints do not make it

704
00:46:17.840 --> 00:46:22.280
past the intake stage because LSP decides not to open

705
00:46:22.320 --> 00:46:27.639
an investigation for improper reasons. This means LSP misses opportunities

706
00:46:27.679 --> 00:46:31.360
to intervene in the behavior that harms the public, including

707
00:46:31.519 --> 00:46:37.559
possible excessive force violations. For example, LSP disregarded domestic abuse

708
00:46:37.599 --> 00:46:40.480
allegations when it failed to investigate a complaint from a

709
00:46:40.559 --> 00:46:44.199
trooper's ex wife. The ex wife alleged that her former

710
00:46:44.320 --> 00:46:48.280
spouse was abusing his position in law enforcement by intercepting

711
00:46:48.320 --> 00:46:51.639
her nine one one calls and harassing her in other ways,

712
00:46:52.039 --> 00:46:57.480
conduct that, if true, would clearly warrant discipline, but IA

713
00:46:57.840 --> 00:47:01.639
marked the allegations unfounded in did not open an investigation

714
00:47:01.760 --> 00:47:05.760
into the complaint. The only explanation provided for the decision

715
00:47:06.000 --> 00:47:09.719
was that after a review, it was determined there's insufficient

716
00:47:09.760 --> 00:47:14.719
evidence to initiate an administrative investigation. There was no record

717
00:47:14.760 --> 00:47:19.440
of whether LSP contacted the ex wife, reviewed any supporting materials,

718
00:47:19.920 --> 00:47:23.199
or check nine one one records. Instead of opening an

719
00:47:23.239 --> 00:47:27.840
investigation is required by LSP policy. IA held this woman

720
00:47:27.920 --> 00:47:32.239
to an impermissible standard, discounting her complaint for insufficient evidence

721
00:47:32.280 --> 00:47:36.599
before it could even gather evidence through a formal investigation.

722
00:47:37.440 --> 00:47:40.880
In another case, IA failed to open an investigation after

723
00:47:40.920 --> 00:47:44.920
receiving allegations of troopers showed an alarming lack of courtesy

724
00:47:45.400 --> 00:47:49.400
toward a severely injured driver following a crash that left

725
00:47:49.440 --> 00:47:52.679
the driver with a broken leg, pelvis, and nose and

726
00:47:52.880 --> 00:47:56.559
stuck waists deep in a ditch of water. A bystander

727
00:47:56.639 --> 00:48:00.840
contacted IA to complain about the trooper's response. She alleged

728
00:48:00.880 --> 00:48:03.960
the trooper refused to stop to help the stranded driver,

729
00:48:04.239 --> 00:48:07.039
instead ordering him to come to the shoulder of the

730
00:48:07.119 --> 00:48:11.159
road along with another person. The bystander had to help

731
00:48:11.199 --> 00:48:14.199
the driver out of the car. Despite the complaint, IA

732
00:48:14.440 --> 00:48:17.679
did not want to open an investigation into the trooper's

733
00:48:17.760 --> 00:48:22.119
failure to render aid. In twenty twenty three, another person

734
00:48:22.199 --> 00:48:25.840
filed a complaint against the same trooper, stating she felt

735
00:48:25.840 --> 00:48:29.079
the trooper was discourteous to her during a traffic stop

736
00:48:29.159 --> 00:48:33.000
and treated her differently because she was not white. IA

737
00:48:33.079 --> 00:48:36.480
reviewed body warn camera footage of the stop and Native.

738
00:48:36.519 --> 00:48:39.599
The trooper appeared agitated and yelled at the driver to

739
00:48:39.639 --> 00:48:43.239
get off the damn road. IA documented that the trooper

740
00:48:43.280 --> 00:48:45.920
told the driver, how much more clear do you need

741
00:48:45.960 --> 00:48:47.840
me to be? Would you want me to tell you

742
00:48:47.880 --> 00:48:51.280
in Spanish? Because I can tell you in Spanish. IA

743
00:48:51.559 --> 00:48:56.000
did not open an investigation. Although internal affairs can now

744
00:48:56.079 --> 00:48:59.679
receive complaints online as of June twenty twenty four, LSP

745
00:48:59.760 --> 00:49:03.679
didn't if I have a central repository for incoming complaints.

746
00:49:03.679 --> 00:49:07.559
When a community member calls or walks into a troops station,

747
00:49:08.360 --> 00:49:12.440
each troop decides what to log and document in the records.

748
00:49:12.440 --> 00:49:16.960
This leads to a significant variation across Louisiana State Police.

749
00:49:17.440 --> 00:49:20.559
If after talking to a person, the sergeant fielding the

750
00:49:20.559 --> 00:49:24.840
complaint decides the person has not alleged a policy violation,

751
00:49:25.199 --> 00:49:28.079
they do not document the complaint or send it up

752
00:49:28.119 --> 00:49:32.039
the chain of command. In addition, troops often minimize misconduct

753
00:49:32.079 --> 00:49:36.880
handling serious allegations that they should instead send IA by

754
00:49:36.880 --> 00:49:40.840
the same token. IA sometimes refers cases to the troops

755
00:49:41.000 --> 00:49:45.960
when it should be investigating the misconduct itself. One case

756
00:49:46.039 --> 00:49:50.559
we reviewed exemplified these deficiencies when a sergeant failed to

757
00:49:50.679 --> 00:49:54.639
upload body worn camera footage for nearly six months and

758
00:49:54.679 --> 00:49:59.079
mislabel many of his arrest videos as non events. His

759
00:49:59.280 --> 00:50:03.159
captain is instructed a lieutenant to conduct an investigation into

760
00:50:03.199 --> 00:50:07.400
the sergeant's actions. The lieutenant ultimately found that the sergeant

761
00:50:07.440 --> 00:50:13.440
engaged in unsatisfactory performance and committed bodywarn camera policy violations,

762
00:50:14.039 --> 00:50:17.159
but his interview with the sergeant lasted less than ten

763
00:50:17.199 --> 00:50:21.280
minutes and did not probe the sergeant's explanations for his behaviors,

764
00:50:21.639 --> 00:50:25.440
his understanding of policies, or whether he supervised and reviewed

765
00:50:25.480 --> 00:50:29.639
troopers use of body warn cameras. The sergeant's troop did

766
00:50:29.679 --> 00:50:34.159
not ask IA to investigate him. Instead, his troops leadership

767
00:50:34.280 --> 00:50:39.599
narrowly read his misconduct as procedural violations and accepted his

768
00:50:39.760 --> 00:50:45.039
explanations without taking further action to prevent future violations. This

769
00:50:45.239 --> 00:50:48.960
failure is all more concerning giving the frontline role that

770
00:50:49.079 --> 00:50:54.199
sergeants play in reviewing bodywarn camera footage for potential violations,

771
00:50:54.239 --> 00:50:58.760
including the use of excessive force. In another example, both

772
00:50:58.840 --> 00:51:02.239
IA and the true failed to act despite clear signs

773
00:51:02.239 --> 00:51:06.360
that a trooper had committed significant violations. Over several years,

774
00:51:06.559 --> 00:51:10.880
the troopers lieutenant discovered and documented multiple arrests where the

775
00:51:10.880 --> 00:51:15.360
trooper falsified evidence. For instance, the trooper arrested a driver

776
00:51:15.519 --> 00:51:18.840
for DWI in possession of a firearm in the presence

777
00:51:18.840 --> 00:51:22.159
of a controlled substance based on a breath test that

778
00:51:22.360 --> 00:51:27.000
showed a zero percent blood alcohol content and a glass

779
00:51:27.039 --> 00:51:31.119
bottle the troopers said contained quote unquote meth oil. The bottle,

780
00:51:31.199 --> 00:51:33.920
which turned out to be empty, came back negative for

781
00:51:34.039 --> 00:51:39.280
traces of methamphetamine. The lieutenant observed that the troopers incidents

782
00:51:39.280 --> 00:51:43.480
have grown more serious and that the trooper's actions call

783
00:51:43.800 --> 00:51:49.599
the department's reputation into question. Troop leadership ultimately referred these

784
00:51:49.639 --> 00:51:54.239
incidents to IA, but we found no evidence IA investigated him.

785
00:51:54.320 --> 00:51:57.159
A few years later, the same trooper was disciplined for

786
00:51:57.280 --> 00:52:02.079
four more violations, including mishandling it a DWRS, tampering with

787
00:52:02.320 --> 00:52:06.559
property at a gem while on duty, and making inappropriate

788
00:52:06.599 --> 00:52:10.559
social media posts, including one that mocked a black colleague's promotion.

789
00:52:11.199 --> 00:52:15.199
Because LSP never investigated the trooper for his previous incidents

790
00:52:15.199 --> 00:52:19.440
of falsifying evidence, none of these later decisions to discipline

791
00:52:19.519 --> 00:52:23.920
him made reference to his record of questionable integrity. He

792
00:52:24.039 --> 00:52:28.920
continued to violate LSP policies. His supervisors wrote him up

793
00:52:29.039 --> 00:52:33.280
an additional five times, including for not calling out stops

794
00:52:33.320 --> 00:52:36.679
while on patrol and failing to file a use of

795
00:52:36.840 --> 00:52:40.039
force report in time, but his troop did not formally

796
00:52:40.119 --> 00:52:45.159
open its own investigation or refer these violations to IA. Instead,

797
00:52:45.480 --> 00:52:50.679
the troops simply prohibited him from working overtime assignments. And

798
00:52:50.719 --> 00:52:53.880
it goes on to say even where LSP policy is

799
00:52:53.920 --> 00:52:58.320
clear and requires IA to investigate certain misconducts, such as

800
00:52:58.519 --> 00:53:03.599
racial bias allegation, we found that IA sometimes improperly sends

801
00:53:03.639 --> 00:53:08.360
those complaints to the troops or otherwise fails to meaningly respond.

802
00:53:08.719 --> 00:53:12.239
A black passenger of a car contacted IA wanting to

803
00:53:12.320 --> 00:53:14.800
file a complaint against the trooper, who he believed it

804
00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:18.119
racially profiled everyone in the car when the trooper pulled

805
00:53:18.400 --> 00:53:22.039
them over for not having a visible license plate. An

806
00:53:22.079 --> 00:53:25.599
I investigator contacted the driver, who told them he did

807
00:53:25.639 --> 00:53:28.599
not want to file a complaint, but agreed with the

808
00:53:28.639 --> 00:53:32.840
passenger that they were racially profiled. The driver told IA

809
00:53:32.880 --> 00:53:35.880
and wanted the trooper to receive training that would prevent

810
00:53:35.960 --> 00:53:39.480
a situation like this in the future, rather than opening

811
00:53:39.519 --> 00:53:42.880
an investigation to gather more facts from the passenger, who

812
00:53:42.960 --> 00:53:47.480
did wish to file a complaint, reviewing body worn camera footage,

813
00:53:47.519 --> 00:53:52.440
and interviewing the trooper as required. IA instead referred the

814
00:53:52.480 --> 00:53:56.320
passenger's complaint to the trooper's captain and then close the case.

815
00:53:56.440 --> 00:54:00.960
We found no evidence of the troop opening its investigation

816
00:54:01.280 --> 00:54:05.079
into the allegations, and it goes on to say due

817
00:54:05.199 --> 00:54:09.199
to failures and force reporting in supervision, IA has also

818
00:54:09.320 --> 00:54:14.480
missed critical moments to promptly intervene in other excessive force incidents.

819
00:54:14.519 --> 00:54:18.360
For example, after a trooper repeatedly struck a black man

820
00:54:18.440 --> 00:54:21.599
in the head with a flashlight, the trooper mislabeled the

821
00:54:21.760 --> 00:54:25.519
body worn camera footage as a quote unquote citizen encounter

822
00:54:25.960 --> 00:54:29.239
without reporting the use of force. Later, when the incident

823
00:54:29.320 --> 00:54:33.400
came to light, the trooper lied to the CID by

824
00:54:33.519 --> 00:54:37.119
saying he only struck the driver's hands and nod his head.

825
00:54:37.639 --> 00:54:41.079
I investigated the incident nearly a year and a half

826
00:54:41.199 --> 00:54:45.039
after the assault, only after the driver filed a lawsuit

827
00:54:45.159 --> 00:54:49.159
against LSP, and in the intervening months, the same trooper

828
00:54:49.280 --> 00:54:53.119
assaulted to other black men. Then it gives another example.

829
00:54:53.159 --> 00:54:56.599
It says a trooper engaged in a dangerous high speed

830
00:54:56.760 --> 00:55:00.840
chase of a car that was reported stolen multiple red

831
00:55:00.920 --> 00:55:04.599
lights in a busy downtown area, ramming into the car

832
00:55:04.639 --> 00:55:07.199
to make it stop, and then shooting one of the

833
00:55:07.280 --> 00:55:10.639
passengers who was trying to escape through a window. The

834
00:55:10.679 --> 00:55:14.239
trooper claimed the passenger appointed a gun at him, and

835
00:55:14.440 --> 00:55:19.000
CID cleared him for any criminal liability related to the shooting.

836
00:55:19.400 --> 00:55:23.679
When I reviewed the incident, it failed to identify obvious

837
00:55:23.719 --> 00:55:28.280
policy violations in the trooper's risky vehicle purceipt tactics, such

838
00:55:28.280 --> 00:55:31.239
as running red lights on a crowded street and his

839
00:55:31.480 --> 00:55:34.960
decision to ram the vehicle with his patrol car. Instead,

840
00:55:35.119 --> 00:55:40.199
I wade a two page memorandum summarizing and accepting the

841
00:55:40.679 --> 00:55:45.159
CID's findings. So at the end of this report, y'all,

842
00:55:45.719 --> 00:55:51.480
they always have a conclusion, right, And the conclusion isn't

843
00:55:51.760 --> 00:55:57.079
long on this one. It's literally like one sentence, but

844
00:55:57.199 --> 00:56:00.119
it's it's disturbing. It's kind of telling in it, and

845
00:56:00.159 --> 00:56:03.360
it tells me there's a problem at LSP. And it

846
00:56:03.480 --> 00:56:07.320
says the Department of Justice has a reasonable cause to

847
00:56:07.400 --> 00:56:11.519
believe that LSP engages in a pattern or practice of

848
00:56:11.639 --> 00:56:16.159
using excessive force that deprives people of the rights under

849
00:56:16.760 --> 00:56:21.599
the Constitution. And then it goes into recommending remedial measures.

850
00:56:22.920 --> 00:56:26.199
I'm not going to get into all that. That's something

851
00:56:26.360 --> 00:56:28.719
that Louisiana State Police is going to have to take

852
00:56:28.719 --> 00:56:35.000
a look at and thinks. But two investigations of some

853
00:56:35.039 --> 00:56:41.079
pretty big Louisiana departments over the last month have kind

854
00:56:41.119 --> 00:56:43.840
of broke and this one is making a lot of

855
00:56:43.880 --> 00:56:46.639
headlines here in the state of Louisiana. So this was

856
00:56:46.719 --> 00:56:50.039
kind of an emergency podcast if you will. Like I said,

857
00:56:50.079 --> 00:56:53.480
I had a whole another podcast plan for today, so

858
00:56:53.599 --> 00:56:57.920
you'll get that next week. Thank you so much for listening,

859
00:56:58.360 --> 00:57:03.440
and until next time, I'm Jim Chapman for Bloody Angla,

860
00:57:03.880 --> 00:57:08.519
a podcast two years and making the complete story of

861
00:57:08.599 --> 00:57:11.760
America's bloodiest present peace.

862
00:57:27.239 --> 00:57:37.760
A Wall Street line, Shackle Chaine, who's some girdie? It's

863
00:57:37.880 --> 00:57:44.280
calling my name? There is no mercy and it's been

864
00:57:44.440 --> 00:57:52.239
a tentery juice as the huge stream game Wrangle of three.

865
00:57:54.440 --> 00:57:59.559
I'm here by me to die.

866
00:58:01.199 --> 00:58:06.400
Inside these wars, inside the wild.

867
00:58:07.960 --> 00:58:09.239
And when the walk

868
00:58:10.960 --> 00:58:26.159
As I know, it's sublody anglebody angle,