It’s no secret that LouisianaVoice has often been in disagreement with actions of the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC), the Louisiana State Troopers Association (LSTA) and LSTA legal counsel Floyd Falcoln. So, to say it took the perfect storm to bring us all into accord is something of an understatement.
The Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC) has inserted itself into a roiling controversy surrounding actions by a former Sterlington High School football coach and in the process, crossed swords with the Ouachita Parish School Board.
And while at first blush, it would seem inappropriate for a state agency like LSPC to engage itself in local matters, especially in the discipline of a high school coach, Robert Burns of the blog Sound Off Louisiana provides key insight into how double standards are applied at the sacred altar of high school football.
Thanks to Burns and his POST of today (Sept. 11) which was re-posted by Walter Abbott’s LINCOLN PARISH NEWS ONLINE, we have a pretty clear picture of why the LSPC, the equivalent of the state police civil service commission, got itself involved in a local matter—and we concur fully in the LSPC action.
In April 2017, when a student party ran short of beer, Sterlington football coach JACK GOODE voluntarily provided partiers with more booze, including vodka. When 16-year-old Chandler Jones resisted the hard stuff, Goode forced him to drink it until he got sick. Goode then struck the teen several times in the chest and face.
A responsible adult, upon being told by a bunch of teenagers that their party had run out of beer, would have shut the party down immediately. But Goode, by all accounts, was anything but a responsible adult on the night in question. In fact, Ouachita Parish sheriff’s deputies described him as “highly intoxicated.”
That was bad enough but it turned out that the Jones teenager was the son of state trooper Joseph Jones who, though off-duty, arrived on the scene simultaneous to the arrival of Ouachita Parish sheriff’s deputies. Jones had been contacted by a deputy who was the parent of another student at the party.
Goode was arrested and charged with battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. District Attorney Steve Tew, however, reduced charges against Goode to misdemeanor battery. Goode walked away from the incident after paying a $300 fine and stepping down as a teacher and coach at Sterlington High School.
The LSPC became indirectly involved when it upheld disciplinary action against the elder Jones for involving himself in a sheriff’s office investigation while off-duty. By a 4-2 vote, Jones was handed a 12-hour suspension while Goode was quickly hired by the Ouachita Parish School Board as a teacher at West Monroe High School.
LSPC, incensed at Goode’s being allowed to remain in the school system after such egregious behavior while Jones received a suspension for doing what any reasonable parent would do under similar circumstances, fired off a LETTER highly critical of the board’s irresponsible actions.
The letter, signed by all seven LSPC members, said that even though Trooper Jones “acted with greater restraint than many parents would have under the circumstances,” the commission nevertheless meted out what it deemed to be appropriate discipline for Jones having intervened in a sheriff’s department investigation, discipline the letter said “was in order for a violation of State Police policies.”
“Yet, despite the horrendous conduct of Mr. Goode, we understand that he is still employed by the School Board and still has access to and authority over minors in your school system.
“This Commission is appalled that this School Board continues to employ Jack Goode in such a capacity after the events that occurred in April 2017, and (that) it continues to allow Mr. Goode to work as a teacher of minor children at West Monroe High School.”
Well, someone has to be the adult in the room and it’s obvious that neither Goode nor the Ouachita Parish School Board are prepared to stake out their claims to such lofty ideals.
Louisiana Voice 
Tom, what did the trooper do, other than just show up?
That’s the part of the story that not included in any of the media coverage. It’s unlikely this part of the story will ever see print but it’s there. None of the media coverage speaks of the discipline that was administered to the deputy and even his supervisors but there was discipline for them that at was more severe than what the trooper got and his was reduced from what was initially recommended.
Thanks, Bud.
Bud, I’ve not been made aware of any discipline administered to the deputies, nor have I heard of anything they did to merit discipline. Do you have any details? If so, please send the info to louisianavoice@cox.net or call me at 225-324-9432. I would certainly like to follow up on this story if there is more to tell. I do know that the State Troopers Association executive director David Young was furious at even the 12-hour suspension and apparently yelled at the trooper rep on the commission following the 4-2 vote.
As to what Trooper Jones did when he showed up, the only info I have is that he “interfered” with a sheriff’s office investigation. I don’t know the nature of that “interference.”
All anyone has to do is watch the video on Burns’ original feature at the following link and all of the preceding questions will be readily answered (warning: some X-rated language is uttered by lawyers and witnesses):
http://www.soundoffla.com/?p=2342.
It truly is an unbelievable set of bizarre circumstances!
Burns was on top of this story and did an outstanding job of exposing what otherwise might never have seen the light of day. He deserves full credit and I greatly appreciate his work on this story.
Tom, as you know there are limits to what these agencies will divulge when it comes to personnel matters. Having the contacts I do, I can tell you with certainty what I previously posted is accurate. The troopers behavior after his arrival at the scene was that would call for heavier discipline than he received but what’s done is done. The trooper himself was intoxicated pretty heavily himself he was attempting to become very physical in his actions but was subdued by the deputies .
This is inaccurate. The deputies stated themselves they smelled a faint smell of alcohol on the Trooper but would not have known otherwise he had been drinking. His actions were of a dad and merely as such. Though I am sure I can only guess where your information originated, I believe you could do a bit more research or even listen to the deputy testify to such. He also never became physical, he is a large man, standing at almost 6’5″, but he is actually a gentle soul. I can only imagine my actions if I had been on scene. My son was battered by a teacher, someone he once loved and respected.
As far as actions of the trooper, the deputies (one who was a witness for the State in the appeal hearing) stated when they arrived on scene, the dad (trooper) was standing calmly with his hands in his pockets in an open carport. He only raised his voice when asking the samd question three times with no reply. Subdued? Absolutely not. He was never asked to leave, nor did his actions become physical at any point.