Louisiana Voice

The recent broadside by the Louisiana State Troopers Association (LSTA) directed at LouisianaVoice for what LSTA described as our “abysmal lack of journalistic ethics” was apparently an open declaration of war against anyone, including retired state troopers who are members of LSTA, who would dare question actions by the association.

The not-so-subtle attack on both the retirees and LouisianaVoice, when taken in context with an article from LSTA Magazine a couple of years back, is laced with more than a little irony—and hypocrisy.

State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson introduced the piece in his From the Superintendent comments on page 13 of the publication:

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“Ethical behavior and personal integrity serves as the foundation of our core values,” he wrote, adding that those traits “mean everything to me.”

He went on to write:

• We must encourage and develop good leadership in every officer at every level.
• Ethics in general and integrity in particular are critical components of high performing police organizations. Collectively they form the organic core of LSP.
• The public trusts us to conduct our business in appropriate, legal and morally acceptable ways.
• Personal responsibility is essential and expected.
• Integrity, if not practices or used as a guiding principle every day, is of no value to this organization.
• The bottom line is that this job demands absolute integrity and it starts with me.

Edmonson cited a second article under the heading of Guest Commentary in the same issue, one written by his then confidential assistant Ronnie Jones (now chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board) which began on page 25.

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In his article, which was two pages long but spread over three pages, Jones said LSP had become “a standard by which other state law enforcement agencies are judged.” Not to question Jones’s “integrity” in truth in reporting, but we would like to see that declaration quantified. Just who is it who judges other state law enforcement agencies by LSP standards? (Just asking.)

“Ethics in general and integrity in particular are critical components of high performing police organizations,” he wrote. “Collectively they form the organic core of our very organizational being.”

Wait. What? Go back up to the second bullet point that Edmonson supposedly write in his From the Superintendent message. Did Jones plagiarize his boss or did Edmonson pull a fast one with his message by having Jones ghost write it for him?

“They trust us to conduct our business in appropriate, legal and morally acceptable ways,” Jones wrote. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan in his debate with President Jimmy Carter, Well, there it is again (see bullet point three above). Integrity would seem to dictate that someone come clean here and clarify who wrote what. Honesty should demand it.

“Ethics is about following the rules and integrity is about doing the right thing regardless of the rules,” Jones pontificated. (See our post from Sunday, Feb. 28.) https://louisianavoice.com/2016/02/28/state-troopers-association-issues-letter-to-its-membership-attacking-louisianavoice-and-others-who-question-activities/

Jones then waxed philosophical when he quoted physicist Albert Einstein: “Einstein once said, ‘Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.’ When it comes to integrity, we either have it or we don’t. We are either truthful or we aren’t.” https://louisianavoice.com/2014/07/11/generous-retirement-benefit-boost-slipped-into-bill-for-state-police-col-mike-edmonson-on-last-day-of-legislative-session/

“This job demands absolute integrity,” he wrote.

“Keeping a dishonest officer among our ranks subjects us all to unfair doubt and skepticism,” he continued. “Dishonesty in this profession is a cancer which if left unattended, will metastasize. When discovered it must be excised. To do otherwise weakens the entire body of state police service.” https://louisianavoice.com/2015/12/08/state-police-lt-sneaked-underage-woman-into-mississippi-casino-in-2010-subsequently-named-commander-of-troop-f/

Come to think of it, the writing styles of Jones and whoever penned that letter to the LSTA membership certainly are similar.

We’re just sayin’…