More information on Brant Thompson’s back-door waiver application for homicide investigator reveals that because he had no homicide investigator training, he was up against a deadline for the granting of the waiver that would allow him status as a lead homicide investigator.
The application he submitted, signed by his boss, State Fire Marshal Butch Browning, claimed Thompson had worked as a homicide lead investigator for more than 20 years and that he had worked more than 100 homicide investigations as either the lead investigator or as supervisor.
Both numbers are suspect in light of Thompson’s apparent lack of both training and certification in his past work experience with the attorney general’s office, six years at the Department of Revenue and his five years at the State Fire Marshal’s office—none of which involved his participation in any active homicide investigations.
The application instructed that applicants “attach a list of ALL training, dates, and locations relevant to homicide investigation training” and to “attach copies of the training certificates or documentation of attendance at these courses.”
LouisianaVoice then made a public records request to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement for copies of those certificates.
Bob Wertz, Law Enforcement Training Manager, replied by email, “There were no documents responsive to your second request. No training dates and/or locations were attached to the original waiver request for Mr. Thompson.
Wertz then referred LouisianaVoice to Act 152 of the 2015 legislative session which says, in part:
“…On and after January 1, 2017, only peace officers who successfully complete the homicide investigator training program or receive a waiver of compliance based on prior training or experience as a homicide investigator shall be assigned to lead investigations in homicide cases…” (Emphasis Wertz’s).
Wertz said all waivers are reviewed by the Homicide Curriculum Committee and that recommendations are made to the POST (Peace Officers Standards and Training) Council. The curriculum committee, comprised of board members of the Louisiana Homicide Investigations Association, advise the council and make recommendations regarding any waivers.
“While the POST Council issues a certificate for completion of the lead Homicide Investigator training course, no investigators are deemed ‘certified’ by the council,” he added.
Browning signed off on Thompson’s application on December 13, 2016, or just 18 days before the January 1 deadline, thereby conveying upon Thompson the status of lead homicide investigator even though he is apparently lacking in experience and training for the position.
In addition to Thompson, nine other State Fire Marshal employees received homicide waivers. They were:
Captains Chris Anderson, Keith Reed, Nicholas Heinen, Chad Robichaux and Brian Mashon and Senior Deputies Jason Johnston, Kristen de la Bretonne, Ronnie Sellers and Travis Goudeau.
In all but Anderson’s case, Browning, just as he had done for Thompson, signed the waiver request forms on December 13, 2016. He signed Anderson’s request form three weeks earlier, on November 23, 2017.
At least most of the nine were sufficiently creative as to not all claim 100 homicide investigations–except for de la Bretonne; she did claim 100 investigations, 35 of which she claims to have been the lead investigator. But she had worked Hurricane Katrina, including Lafon Nursing Facility of the Holy Family where there were 36 deaths and the St. Rita’s Nursing Home where 32 perished, according to one of her former co-workers. As for Goudeau, he apparently encountered a mini-crime wave in Bunkie where he previously worked as a patrolman for the city police department. He claimed four homicide investigations, serving as lead investigator on three.
Click here for HOMICIDE WAIVER REQUEST FORMS
The designations are apparently part of Browning’s grand scheme of cross-training whereby all employees are classified in all facets of the fire marshal’s office that in other states are separated as specific areas of expertise such as boiler inspections, amusement ride inspections, arson investigators, nursing home and hospital inspections, etc.
Browning was forced to rush the waiver requests through before the impending January 1, 2017, deadline because, apparently, none of the ten met the criteria that went into effect on that date.
The cross-training program has come under harsh criticism by those familiar with inspections and investigations who are either still active in or retired from the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Their primary concern that cross-training in each area of fire marshal operations weakens all disciplines and leaves the Fire Marshal’s Office prone to key mistakes that in turn leaves the office and the individual employees vulnerable to civil and criminal liability.
And while the example is extreme, the diffusion of responsibilities among all employees could conceivably create a repeat of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City in which 146 workers, mostly teenage women, either burned to death or plunged 80 feet to their deaths to escape the flames that engulfed the building.
News reporter William Shepherd, who just happened to be walking past the building when he noticed smoke, described a “more horrible sound than description can picture,” the impact of 62 speeding human bodies smacking into the sidewalk. “Thud-dead, thud-dead, thud-dead…” he would write for United Press as the only way he could describe the scene of broken, twisted bodies.
Investigators found that even though the Triangle building had passed fire codes prior to the fire, several doors in the building were either jammed shut or locked in order to ensure that the girls stayed at their jobs. Trapped in a building that had passed inspections, they were forced to choose death from the flames or by jumping.
Again, an extreme case but yet an example of what can happen when an amusement ride, a boiler or hot water heater, or a nursing home or hospital is given a once-over inspection by someone not properly trained as an amusement ride inspector, a boiler inspector, or a hospital/nursing home inspector.
And on top of all that, Browning wants those trained as fire code inspectors, ride inspectors and boiler inspectors to double as cops investigating homicides.
This is a situation that begs for the immediate attention of the governor’s office.
Why is Browning bestowing all of these bogus certifications? Is it a way to pay more to his cronies? Is it to make it appear that he is leading the most skilled Fire marshal’s Office in the nation? Is it being done in order to minimize the number of Inspectors and thus having it appear that he is a skilled manager and steward of funds allotted to his department? Is his totally inept supervisor, Jimmy Leblanc, rewarding him for doing this on his behalf? Why would anyone do such as this when so many lives are at stake? Browning is already responsible for one tragic death that we all know of regarding an unqualified amusement ride inspection. That alone should have called into question his qualifications to lead the SFMO, but he continues in his post and is even worsening his inept management practices.
Governor, make changes before you are further splattered with blood and feces from Browning and Leblanc mismanagement.
Another day, another dollar for the great leaders of SFM.
This is what we’ve elected and this is who’s been appointed.
The entire Browning/Thompson Klan is a joke. No wonder large agencies don’t take us seriously. No wonder the entire agency is now full of the inept idiots who barely graduated high school, couldn’t make it in the real world of law enforcement, too pussified to be a firefighter, and too lazy to find a real job.
I’ve worked for a few state agencies, and this one is ridiculous. The people who work side by side with me everyday are complete and total jackasses.
And we can’t blame them. They’re trying to do a good job and be a public servants. But they’re attracted to the shiny gold badges and nice SUV’s.
Brant Thompson-you are complete fool and you’ve run yet another state agency into the ground.
Butch Browning-you are an incompetent idiot who’s given the keys and free reign of a respectable state agency to a blubbering moron who barely knows how to spell “fire”.
Tell us, oh great Chief Deputy- how does a fire start?!
Do you think Brant Thompson’s father had anything to do with the jobs Brant has been given (and I do mean given)?
You know, as a former deputy, I cant believe that you all would lower your standards to lie about the number of homicides you all investigated in the past. Take you Travis Goudeau, you worked for Bunkie Police Department. You were a patrolman, not an investigator. In your years with Bunkie PD and the State Fire Marshals Office, you have not investigated four homicides. As a law officer, it is your oath to uphold the law not break it. That goes for all of you. It’s time for the people of Louisiana to know the truth and stand up for what’s right. None of you should be carrying the badge. All of you who have lied have dishonored every law officer that has taken the oath to uphold the law. You should be removed from having the honor of carrying the badge. I plead with Gov. Edwards, Senators and State Representatives, please look into all of the matters of the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s code of conduct. Gov. Edward, we all know that you owe Butch favors and he’s a friend, but the people of Louisiana have had enough. Butch and his minions are running one of the top agencies, one that was looked up to by other State Fire Marshal’s Office across the country, into the ground and you, Gov. Edwards are just letting them.