I was in attendance at one of my grandchildren’s school Veterans’ Day programs on Thursday and unable to attend the first meeting of the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC) in several months but suffice it to say something major is brewing with this newly-made over body.
And whatever it is doesn’t to appear to bode well for the Louisiana State Troopers’ Association (LSTA).
It was the first meeting of the commission since August which, coincidentally, was also the last meeting for former Chairman State Trooper T.J. Doss and former Vice Chair Monica Manzella. Both have since resigned and Doss, LouisianaVoice is told, has been on extended sick leave.
Doss was succeeded to the chairman’s position by Baton Rouge attorney Eulis Simien, Jr. and Dr. Michael W. Neustrom of Lafayette replaced Manzella as vice chairman.
But most puzzling was the executive session entered into by the commission.
When the motion was made to go into closed session the belated reason given was to discuss pending litigation—even though there is no pending litigation at the present time against the commission.
Upon exiting, however, commission legal counsel Lenore Feeney amended that reason, saying the executive session was for the discussion of “allegations of misconduct,” according to some in attendance.
And upon returned from behind closed doors, commission members were said to be in a much fouler mood than when they went in, an indication there may have been something a little more intense taking place out of sight of attendees.
Simien, normally an amiable sort, immediately launched into a lecture to those there about how business would be conducted differently in the future and that decorum would strictly adhered to.
If there is to be any investigation of “alleged misconduct,” it could be on one or both of two issues: that San Diego trip taken by State Police in October of 2016 and which resulted in disciplinary action against three troopers who have appealed their discipline to the commission.
The commission voted to consolidate the three appeals into one case and also decided to discard the non-report of Natchitoches attorney Taylor Townsend who was paid $75,000 to investigate and report on possible illegal campaign contributions by the LSTA to various politicians.
The campaign contributions were actually made through the LSTA’s executive director David Young’s personal checking account. Young subsequently billed the association for reimbursement in an apparent effort to circumvent state law prohibiting political activity by state classified employees.
Taylor’s contract, for which he was paid $75,000, called for him to investigate the matter and submit a report of his findings to the LSPC. Instead, he simply told the commission that he recommended “no action” be taken on the matter and the board, which had a completely different makeup at that time, accepted his report.
Since then, the entire board membership, as well as its executive director, has changed dramatically, with almost all the members resigning for various reasons.
Townsend has yet to submit a report the board even though he has been asked to do so on several occasions.
Now, apparently, with a new board in place—with the exception of two positions which remain vacant—a change of heart has taken place and the commission is at least acting like it is serious about investigating the contributions.
One thing is for certain, however:
If the commission was unsure of the real reason for Thursday’s executive session, that can only mean its purpose was illegitimate to begin with. There are specific reasons for executive sessions and the law is narrowly written so as to prevent abuse of the state’s open meeting laws.
To give one reason going into executive session only to change the reason upon exiting is subterfuge in its most blatant form and an action that thumbs its nose at the law itself—from an agency whose very purpose is to ensure compliance with the law.
If there is to be an executive session, public bodies in Louisiana are required to give notice in advance, as an agenda item—in other words, in writing—and to give the reason. Anything else is a lie. They can’t make up the rules on the fly. And they certainly can’t go into closed session and decide the reason for the secrecy after the fact.
Any legal counsel who advises a public agency, body, board, or commission should know the state’s open meetings law (R.S. 42:11) and the Executive Session provision (R.S. 42:16) forward and backward. That requirement comes with the job. http://parlouisiana.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Open_Meetings_Law.pdf
We thought they had learned that in one memorable meeting several months ago when Townsend suggested an executive session and when asked the reason, said—with a perfectly straight face—“We don’t have to give one.”
Uh…yes you do. And it’s more than a little disturbing that it took a layman to inform him of the law at that meeting.
Louisiana Voice 
If the Governor wants us to believe that he has reconstituted the LSPC as a professional and ethical body, then he should demand that the Commission require Taylor Townsend to produce the written report for which he was paid. If such a report is not IMMEDIATELY forthcoming, then institute suit. The failure by the LSPC of paying for a product they contractually were entitled to but did not receive does not for a moment relieve Townsend of the obligation to produce and provide a written report of his findings.
Unless, of course, the governor was complicit. Taylor Townsend, after all, was heavily involved in John Bel Edwards’s campaign and the post-election transition team.
Let us hope they actually conduct an investigation this time.
I posted this on another thread, but it is my understanding the commission has the authority to look into these matters. I am no longer in a position, and haven’t been in almost seven years, to change how things are done there but I did do things the right way and refused till the day I left to allow criminal behavior. But I can say at the end of every shift, I would pray that somebody or individuals, that had no fear of retaliation or threats from the department against oneself or family, would put an end to this criminal behavior, and unethical decisions being based on someone’s dad being a sheriff, blackmail, or owing someone something who covered up for another. I dedicated so many years to the department, gave many hours away from my family, thinking I made a difference, only to have the entirety of the state police coming after me because I refused to allow payroll fraud. The department knew all about it and edmonson and his commission covered it up. He allowed Troop commanders and their supervisors to run the troops as if they were there own dictatorship. We have seen what happens when dictators are challenged. When I retired in 2010, I never could have imagined how much worse it could become. I once again pray, for the commission to do what the department will not do.
Here is my original message.
When you retire, you are no longer within the chain of conversation. You do though, have another flow of information. We hear things happening within the troops to this very day through other networks of communication. The department and upper command staff act confused or surprised when these issues are brought to the forefront but when the troop captain tells his Lieutenants and Sgts. not to check on his troopers’ whereabouts, that’s a problem. When he says to enter the time they claim, without questioning it, that’s a problem. When he condones claiming hours in excess of those actually earned and writes up those who refuse to claim overtime, that’s a problem. When he has troopers resigning in lieu of being fired for payroll fraud, that’s a problem. When, after losing total control of the troop under his command, his only punishment is having to drive to Baton Rouge, while on the clock at taxpayer expense, that’s a problem. So, I guess its easy to say that, Yes, LSP has problems.
These things were happening seven years ago when I retired. Through the retiree network I hear, these things are still taking place. A hands-off order was and is still in place for the Edmonson’s holdouts. With that said, there are still good troopers out there who believe in public safety without doctoring payroll to accomplish that mission. But heed this warning: they are a dying breed, being systematically hunted by the HQ supervisors and Regional supervision through the state to the intended point of extinction.
Thank You Fellow Retiree! The Good Hard Working Troopers out there need to know the reason the Retirees keep bringing these issues to the forefront, is that we want the Agency we joined years ago to return to the Ethics and Integrity, We All Became Troopers For In The First Place. Unfortunately, the media seems to be the only way to bring this change. Had it not been for Tom and Lee Zurik, Edmonson would still be there. It appears the agencies with oversight in these illegal criminal matters, just want to drag their feet!
I agree with you that the agency is part of the problem and not part of the solution.
They can’t hide anymore though because now it is all out in the open thanks to Lee Zurik.
Now it is time for the good troopers both active and retired,who have tried so hard to make needed changes to shine their lights of dedication, hard work, loyalty to the job and respect to the badge they wore and the laws they upheld.
When the dust settles, the good troopers will win and hopefully they will prosecute the ones who caused all the problems to begin with.
God Bless our Troopers who keep us safe each day and night. I don’t know what we would do without them. These are the dedicated men and women who are out there on those roads day and night not knowing what their next encounter is going to be and they will answer that call even if their life depends on it. They all deserve respect for what they do each day. They certainly don’t deserve to be treated inferior by those troopers and their bosses who think they can get away with what has been going on for way too long now.
Thank God for Lee Zurik and our dedicated State Troopers!