When I posted the story on LouisianaVoice last Thursday about the Step-N-Strut trail ride on Tunica-Biloxi land in Marksville on Nov. 3-5, I did so in the full knowledge that it would be a controversial story because of the claims by organizers that Tunica-Biloxi Police Chief Harold Pierite, Sr. attempted a $10,000 shakedown under the threat of closing down the last day of the event.
That is why I called Pierite, his Chief Deputy Chico Mose, and attempted without success to speak with Tribal Council Vice Chairman Marshall Ray Sampson, Sr.
Pierite did at least speak with me long enough to deny any shakedown, and I quoted him as saying it “never happened.” I also quoted him as denying that he threatened to shut down the event’s last day of activities.
Mose did not deny or acknowledge anything. Instead, he said he would get back to me.
He never did.
I attempted to call Sampson and left word for him to call. He, like Mose, did not call back. Instead, I received a statement from Sampson but delivered through the Enrhardt Group, a New Orleans corporate communications and marketing firm.
That statement, which did little to shed any light on the events of Sunday, Nov. 5, was included in my story.
But on Saturday, two days after the story was posted, Sampson and Pierite have issued a joint, two-page statement, again through Enrhardt, that purports to dispute the content of Thursday’s story, point-by-point.
“In the interests of accuracy and fairness, we hope you will give this statement of facts the same consideration as you did for the original posting of Nov. 16,” the latest statement says, apparently suggesting that I did not do so with the original story.
But hey, let’s not ever say I’m unfair in giving both sides a chance to have their say. Even though they chose not to elaborate on the charges by Dave and Torry Lemelle of Opelousas, I agree to print their statement—but do so with the caveat that Thursday’s story contained an accurate account of the facts insofar as I was able to obtain them from sincere efforts to contact both sides and to obtain their version of the events.
So, here is the TUNICA BILOXI RESPONSE:
- Prior to the event, all communication took place between Chief Harold Pierite of the Tunica-Biloxi Police Dept. and Paul Scott of Step-N-Strut. You should note that Mr. Scott has praised the efforts of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and its relationship with Step-N-Strut.
- Prior to the event, the Tunica-Biloxi Police Dept. conducted research on the Step-N-Strut event with Natchitoches and St. Landry police departments regarding the type of event and security that should be provided. It was decided that there should be at least one officer per 75 attendees at the event. Original estimates for security were based on these figures.
- All estimates for security leading to the event were provided to Mr. Scott and Step-N-Strut. The original estimate for $112,000 was based on 50 officers, plus four state troopers covering the event in shifts for three days. When the Step-N-Strut leadership balked at the amount, a revised estimate was developed reflecting fewer officers and a reduction in their hourly rates. (That estimate is attached.) This estimate was initialed by all principals.
- The Tunica-Biloxi Police Department made every effort to operate within the financial constraints of Step-N-Strut, which led to the revised estimate. In the final analysis, because fewer than 30 officers were available, the total charges were considerably less than the revised estimate. We believe the total charges for security were less than $30,000, even less than the amount the organization says it was charged by other entities. Since each officer was paid separately, Step-N-Strut should have accurate figures on the actual cost of security.
- No cash was involved in any transaction between the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe or Police Department and Step-N-Strut. Security officers were paid by check and 1099s were issued. The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe’s Economic Development Council received a check for $4,500, which were the only funds that were transferred between Step-N-Strut and the Tribe.
- The Tribal Council was aware of the event, but it left all security arrangements up to the Police Department and Step-N-Strut leadership. No tribal council member received any remuneration whatsoever from Step-N-Strut or its leadership/membership.
- Attendance at the event was higher than the original projections and security planned for 2,500 to 3,000 attendees. This resulted in traffic and parking issues, as evidenced by the number of vehicles that were towed because of illegal parking on LA Hwy 1.
- The gunshot on Saturday evening caused the closure of the event because of security concerns. Officers viewed the shot being fired from the crowd and took reasonable action for the safety of the entire crowd.
- The confusion over the late start on Sunday was due to a representative of Step-N-Strut who told the officer-in-charge that they would not pay for security. The event was delayed until this matter was resolved. Chief Pierite engaged Mr. Lemelle and was assured that officers would be paid. In fact, the event was opened at 10:30 A.M. Mr. Pierite wanted assurance that they would be paid for the time they worked on Sunday.
- All communication regarding security for the event occurred between Chief Pierite and Paul Scott. Based on Mr. Scott’s correspondence to you, there do not seem to be problems between those parties. Also, because all transactions were by check and can be documented easily, there should be no confusion about monies paid and parties who received funds. We suggest that anyone quoted other than these principals really didn’t know the facts.
So, there you have it. For the record, Paul Scott, with whom Pierite dealt in negotiations for the event, has also come to the support of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe. His statement was posted by LouisianaVoice as one of the comments to the original story.
My final word on this is to express the desire that when contacted by LouisianaVoice on a story, don’t duck the issue. Don’t say you’ll call me back and then go silent. I am happy to publish both sides of a story but too often, one side clams up and won’t talk and then cries foul when the story hits.
A fair and balanced follow-up. I guess the best case and fairest assessment of this situation was (and it applies to many other cases) expressed by Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke when he said, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.”
If this were an NFL game, the official would be saying, “The previous play is under further review.”
Unfortunately, unlike the NFL, there are no pinpoint camera for instant reply to replay it over and over again and analyze it six different ways from Sunday.
This is just my opinion, but given that the Lemelles assert Pierite was “gone for five hours” (see original post), I think I would have activated the record button on my cell phone (audio minimum) upon his return given that he was allegedly threatening to shut it all down. With a recording of that, and a recording of the $4,000 payment, there would be little to question about the veracity of the quotes made in the first article. Plus, THEN it would be a feature story that every TV station in Louisiana would cover.
Hidden cameras can be so small now that they can literally be concealed in the center of a pair of sunglasses. With this kind of money at stake, perhaps a small investment of $100 – $200 for just such a device may be highly advisable for future events. They sure beat a “he said, she said” version of events, which is unfortunately what we have here.
My thoughts exactly. I would have recorded the transaction.