By Robert Burns
A recent Advocate article revealed that an LSP member of Gov. Jindal’s family-security team, Sgt. Damiem Dyson, Sr., was arrested for suspicion of drunk driving. Dyson rear-ended a vehicle in front of him, causing it to crash into several trees but, thankfully, the driver of the vehicle was not injured. Meanwhile, Dyson continued on to the next exit, where he pulled over and authorities apprehended him. He registered 0.175% blood-alcohol content, which is more than twice the legal limit for drunk driving in Louisiana. He was apprehended, placed in jail, placed on paid administrative leave, and an investigation by the Internal Affairs Division of LSP ensued.
Col. Edmonson weighed in on the incident: “As law enforcement professionals, we have not only legal responsibilities but also high standards of integrity that must be upheld at all times while serving the citizens of Louisiana,” he said. “Following a thorough criminal and administrative investigation, the department will review all findings in this matter and take swift steps to ensure an impartial and appropriate course of action.”
That sounds proactive and procedurally prudent until we take a peek at Edmonson’s own driving habits at LSP. In 1983, Edmonson was issued a letter of reprimand for an overly-aggressive effort to assist Denham Springs Police during which he crossed the medium and struck a light pole. Then-LSP Col. J. C. Willie said, “I recommend that in the future you take all precaution in the operation of your unit to avoid accidents of this kind.” Granted, Edmonson was a young trooper at the time, and that incident may well be attributed to an overly-zealous desire to protect the safety of Louisiana citizens. LouisianaVoice readers may recall that when Bobby Jindal was sworn in as governor in January of 2008, he proclaimed that a new day in Louisiana governmental transparency had arrived. Further, he repeatedly invoked the refrain, “We have zero tolerance for corruption.” Now, as we approach the end of Jindal’s eight-year tenure as Louisiana’s absentee chief executive, the jury has clearly returned with the verdict that his initial pronouncements were all nothing more than good old garden variety horse manure.
Edmonson managed to avoid further disciplinary action until 1988. That was the year of a Papal visit to New Orleans. Although Edmonson was accused of other wrongdoing which was overturned on appeal, Edmonson was suspended for 10 days for working 13 hours of security detail on that visit without obtaining proper approval and for failure to evidence the security detail having been worked by submitting a copy of his check for payment as well as another document required by LSP protocol.
Three years later, in 1991, he received another letter of reprimand for careless vehicle operation. While attempting to park, Edmonson apparently was distracted by a horn being blown by a vehicle behind him. When he looked to his rear, he struck the left front bumper of the parked vehicle. Edmonson was deemed “at fault” and admonished to “exercise care and caution in the operation of your unit to avoid accidents of this kind.”
Then, in 1994, Edmonson was suspended for 40 hours due to “insufficient attentiveness for the demands of the situation.” At 1:25 a.m. on April 1, 1994, Edmonson “left the Eastbound lane of I-12,” after which he “collided with a concrete piling of an overpass.” The report includes hand-written instructions for an official named Eddie to “verify LWOP” (leave without pay). The report indicates that Edmonson “suffered serious injuries” and that the vehicle “was extensively damaged to the point that it is considered a total loss.” The report also indicates that driving at high speeds on an interstate requires “constant vigilance” and further relays, “It is apparent from your statement that you were aware that your degree of attentiveness was insufficient for the demands required by the situation.” The report then says that, as an LSP trooper, Edmonson should have recognized “your condition” and “taken the initiative to recommit yourself to your driving obligations.” LSP is “extremely fortunate that you were not more seriously injured and perhaps even more fortunate that innocent persons were not involved,” the report concluded
The retired LSP trooper who’d initiated the contact to suggest that Edmonson’s personnel file be examined said of the wording of the reprimand, “That’s a flowery way for the department to say he was drunk.” He also said he and several of his colleagues had been lied to. He said, “We were told that Edmonson was a passenger in the vehicle and another trooper was driving. This is the first I’ve heard of Edmonson being the one doing the driving.” A second law enforcement officer indicated that while he knew Edmonson was the driver, there was a concerted effort on the part of LSP to “cover the whole incident up.” The retired trooper source also said, “Our jaws just dropped when we learned Gov. Jindal was appointing Edmonson as LSP Colonel.”
Edmonson was suspended for another 16 hours. This suspension again resulted from careless operation of his vehicle. It seems that while waiting at a drive-thru teller line at Whitney Bank on Government Street—with an unauthorized passenger in his LSP vehicle (Edmonson’s 12-year-old son)—at 1:30 p.m. on August 18, 1995, Edmonson “reached down to retrieve a check from the front seat.” When he did so, his foot slipped off the brake pedal, thus resulting in the vehicle moving forward. In attempting to stop, Edmonson apparently went to apply the brake, but instead at least partially hit the accelerator and smashed into the vehicle in front of him. Both passengers in the vehicle Edmonson hit complained of minor injuries.
Tyler Bridges, in his excellent book Bad Bet on the Bayou, noted that state police superintendent is one of the most important appointments a Louisiana governor makes. Bridges describes the position as historically an “enforcement arm” of any Louisiana governor’s policies and agenda.
Jindal appointed Mike Edmonson as his LSP Colonel and for more than six years, most people had little reason to question Edmonson’s integrity or the way he operated his department. That all changed, however when news of the “Edmonson Amendment” broke on July 11. The stealth amendment attempted to cram through a $55,000 per year boost to Edmonson’s retirement pension.
Before the episode was fully rectified (via a lawsuit filed by Sen. Dan Claitor to have the law declared unconstitutional), considerable collateral fallout transpired. The fallout arose from the fact that, upon the LouisianaVoice post, numerous retired LSP troopers began providing insight into Edmonson’s managerial style.
As a result, considerable evidence of payroll cronyism and nepotism within LSP became known. C. B. Forgotston revealed the existence of a 49-5 club of retired LSP troopers deemed to be in the “Edmonson clique” who were rehired at annual salaries of $49,500 each (though payroll records reveal no one making that precise salary) to perform menial tasks like making coffee, running errands for the purchase of donuts for the “breakfast crew,” etc. Now as most Louisiana Voice readers have just read in the news, Jindal is about to be forced to make $171 million in mid-year budget cuts due to revenue shortfalls. The cuts are necessary notwithstanding Jindal’s phantom “surplus” found by Kristy Nichols despite contradictory claims by folks like State Treasurer John Kennedy. Isn’t it a tad bit galling to know $171 million in cuts is being required, yet the state has plenty of money to rehire troopers whose only tasks are to simply hang around the office?
Perhaps Edmonson’s own perfection of the art of deception and misdirection explains why he has endured—and very nearly prospered monetarily—while others who at least seemed to possess the attributes Jindal espoused were told to take a hike. At any rate, as we see the upcoming commercials and warnings from LSP to please drive safely during the upcoming holiday season, let’s hope that they’re instilling the same friendly warnings to their own ranks, including at the highest level.
What is the old saying?
Do as I say not as I do!
Another layer pulled back, Robert.
Great work. Thank you.
PUT THE CAR IN PARK FIRST!!! DOH!
Fredster, a little bit of detective work could clear all of this up. Reaching for a check ON the front seat isn’t going to cause your foot to slip off of the brakes, however reaching for a bottle UNDER the front seat could certainly result in foot slippage. (As a child, I had a lot of experience in this matter observing my dad. Seems like an open and shut case to me!)
@Patrick: While that’s true I was thinking of what I would do. I usually have a lot of “junk” on the seat and if I had to look down or away I’d just put the vehicle in park.
You notice how corrupt people tend to gravitate toward one another?
Perfect point, Veritas! One has to question why Jindal would appoint someone with such a problematic past (don’t forget the Papal visit episode beyond just the driving incidents, one of which is a virtual certainty DWI and the other, as Patrick points out, has empirical evidence pointing to same).
I have my own theory on that. Edmonson was PERFECT for the position because Jindal would always have these episodes to hang over his head for termination should Edmonson fail to perform his job EXACTLY as Jindal specified.
My theory would explain why LSP would be so aggressive in prosecuting Murphy Painter for using the LSP database (which a Louisiana statute explicitly allowes ATC folk to do) for mailing sympathy cards (Judge Brady – to U. S.. Attorneys: “That rises to a federal crime?”). I attended that trial, and one of the U. S. government’s key witnesses was a lady whose last name is Scott. She oversees the LSP database. While she was on the witness stand, one of the U. S. attorneys posed a question, and she responded with, “What I want everyone in this room to understand is that……” I immediately said in my mind (and would have certainly had I been on the jury), “Oh, so now you’re going to talk down to all of us, including Judge Brady!” Mike Fawer, one of Painter’s defense attorneys, then cross-examined Ms. Scott, and he asked her to confirm if, in virtually all instances for which he was being prosecuted, Mr. Painter never went to the “2nd level” of the database and therefore only obtained information he could have readily obtained at the courthouse just like any other citizen. Scott’s response: “That’s irrelevant. It’s still a violation of our letter agreement. ATC has been advised not to use the database.”
Now doesn’t the entire little episode above smack of #1) a witch hunt, and #2) aggressive pursuit of someone who was performing the job thoroughly and with diligence and care, yet had the compassion as a caring friend to mail sympathy cards to an associate and his brother upon the passing of their mother?
Nevertheless, LSP, under Edmonson’s leadership and direction, aggressively prosecuted Mr. Painter. Of course, as Mr. Bridges points out in his book, Edmonson was doing so at the behest of Gov. Jindal and, had he not, Jindal could have easily tossed Edmonson based on “subsequent” background checks run entailing Edmonson’s own checkered past with LSP!!
Your theory makes sense. Corrupt-leaning people probably think in terms of having some dirt in reserve on their people, to use if there is no other justification to throw somebody out. I have often wondered if Piyush and Krispy each secretly have some dirt on each other (there would be a lot to work with) to use as a sort of Mutually Assured Destruction.
A cynic would consider the recent front page fluff piece in the ADVOCATE timed to effectively neutralize this and any other negatives that might surface. Colonel Edmonson certainly has his share of influential supporters.
Excellent point, Mr. Winham. Numerous retired troopers told me that Edmonson was the overwhelming choice of the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association. Louisiana sheriffs strongly backed Jindal’s campaign both in 2007 and 2011. From what I was told, they told Gov. Jindal who they wanted to obtain the LSP Colonel position, and that’s who got it, problematic past notwithstanding.
Edmonson was smart in that he totaled the police car in the wee hours of the morning and didn’t involve others (by the grace of God). Dyson, although also in the wee hours of the morning, fled and another car was involved, so he got no “flowery language cover up.” Still will be interesting to see what Dyson’s discipline will turn out to be, more especially since he also happens to be African American.
This is hilarious. From reading the below LA Voice post, MANY retired troopers are “ratting out” His Excellency Mike Edmondson and, consequently, are exposing him for the azz-sucking hypocrite he is… Proof positive as to how “popular” je truly is!
My goodness! With a driving record like that, would I even be able to get a driver’s license, not to mention car insurance? I guess it’s okay if you’re a state trooper.
Thanks Robert for telling the true story that “others” would/could not tell…….
You’re quite welcome, looking! It’s the whole premise behind Tom’s formation of this blog, and I’m honored to be able to contribute.
apparently Jindal does not have issue with his staff having DWIs. When Rainwater got one, he got a pass too
Not to diminish the seriousness of Rainwater’s offense, but at least he was in his personal vehicle and on his own time as opposed to being on duty in a state vehicle.
This man has suspended Troopers, taken them off the road and holds similar violations of policy over their heads as a reason why they cannot be promoted, or a reason why another Trooper was promoted instead, with supervisors saying, “I guess they are not ready to forgive.” But Edmonson himself, every time he speaks before a group of Troopers says “when it’s over, it’s over” to the point that they don’t want to listen to him speak! I guess because he has had the luxury of that saying he repeats it. Do as I say, not as I have done, is surely the norm, unless you are a chosen one do you get the same luxury.