Louisiana State Police (LSP), only two-and-one-half years removed from one of its darkest chapters, may be facing yet another serious problem perpetrated from within the State Police Training Academy.
LSP Public Information Officer Major Doug Cain on Tuesday confirmed that two cadets had been removed, or separated, from the current class currently undergoing training at the academy for cheating.
Cain said the two were involved in cheating on a test, but the problem may actually go much deeper than just two cadets cheating on an exam, LouisianaVoice has learned.
LouisianaVoice has received reports that a key test may have been made available to certain cadets via an online drop box. An internal investigation will likely take place with disciplinary action to follow if the allegations are borne out.
Independent sources have reported to LouisianaVoice that the test in question is the Police Officers Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) test which all police officers at local, parish and state levels must pass in order to become certified as law enforcement officers.
That test is separate from the weekly exams given cadets, the source said.
The source said that “captains, instructors, cadets—all of the above—were involved in providing copies of the P.O.S.T. test to select cadets whom they favored.
If correct, that would rise to the level of a major scandal for LSP Superintendent Colonel Kevin Reeves, who succeeded Mike Edmonson, who was forced into retirement following a series of negative stories culminating in an unauthorized trip to San Diego by four troopers in a state vehicle.
In my research for an anticipated book tentatively entitled America’s Rogue Sheriffs: A Culture of Corruption (a sequel to Louisiana’s Rogue Sheriffs: A Culture of Corruption), it was found that sheriffs’ deputies in several other states were fired for obtaining copies of tests but this would be the first known such case involving law enforcement in Louisiana.
It was not immediately known how many cadets might be involved in the alleged P.O.S.T. cheating scandal, nor how many, if any, instructors may be implicated.
The academy was recently rocked with another TRAINING INCIDENT when at least 10 cadets were injured, some with broken bones, as part of hazing punishment when one cadet was found to be in possession of a cellphone. Defensive Tactics (DT) training has subsequently been suspended at the academy as a result of the injuries.
LouisianaVoice will follow up on details as they are learned.
Tom, could this explain why there is at least one Trooper who is not familiar with Louisiana Revised Statute 14:67, but claims to be an expert to the media?
Surprise surprise surprise!
Well, at least the LSP seems to be making some progress by giving “largely” honest answers to questions regarding impropriety at all levels within the LSP organization. Now let’s see if Kevin Reeves has “The Right Stuff.”
What choice do they have? They know they’ll be crucified for lying about it.
As for Reeves having the “right stuff,” the jury has already rendered its verdict in that matter a long time ago and, IMHO, he is FAR more dangerous than Edmonson because that choir boy face image the agency is seeking to portray belies the reality of the insidious cancer that is just beneath the surface at LSP and impossible at this point to contain:
Justification for my commentary above:
https://www.soundoffla.com/was-prized-lsp-detective-transfer-of-col-reeves-son-actually-a-big-thank-you-for-prior-promotions-of-those-approving-the-transfer/
Former Advocate (now AP) reporter Jim Mustian was largely muzzled by The Advocate and didn’t have the freedom to publish some material I have no qualms publishing (e. g. Gov. Edwards’ office having told LSPC former Executive Director Cathy Derbonne to “shut the f— up” entailing her reporting Edwards’ allegedly-illegal acts). Reeves made the dumbest move he ever made in his life when he drafted an editorial to The Advocate the SECOND Mustian was gone stating that it was time for The Advocate to “move on” from reference to the San Diego side trip fiasco. The implication was that, aside from that one episode, LSP is a well-run state agency. The reality could not possibly be further from the truth! In drafting that editorial, Reeves revealed his insecurities where when it comes to media scrutiny of LSP’s operations and, given the nature of the operation he is overseeing, he has good reason to fear that scrutiny!
We have seen what happens when IA investigates payroll fraud and filing of false documents in their own ranks. Nothing. Those troopers are still on the job and will be rewarded with a generous retirement check. IA will twist words to benefit their own. Have seen it personally. It all falls back on supervision. They are not held accountable nor punished for violations of their own policies and never pursue criminal charges, it is always an administrative investigation. They are quick other state employees that have committed the same violations. There definitely needs to be an independent investigation by an an outside agency.
I saw the pictures of the beaten cadets before they took the pictures down. Hazing. When frats haze people go to jail. Don’t be surprised when they cover this up and take care of their own.
Public safety needs honest people.,not criminals in uniform. If these people started off lying and cheating from the beginning, just imagine once they were certified. We in public safety need those above reproach.
Well Tom, Thanks for posting this. Nine years of Edmonson and Dupuy promoting their Frat boys that still occupy the ranks of State Police will continue to surface in such scandals. When the scandals surface the State Police Commission exhonerates them. The nepotism that continues to haunt the State Police is found in this very cadet class in this matter. Check the class roster on those immediate relatives of the current class in question. I would also recommend checking how much emphasis is placed on hiring immediate relatives in these cadet classes. An outside agency needs to conduct this inquiry.
I wonder if the La Commission on Law Enforcement ( http://lcle.la.gov/programs/post.asp) is complicit in this. They administer the test. LCLE is a branch office of the Sheriff’s Association so anything is in play.
But you would hope (not expect, but hope; this is Louisiana after all) that our state troopers would actually know basic law principles covered by the POST exam since that is what they are out there enforcing- with the aid of a baton, tear gas, a Taser, a firearm and the power of arrest.
Also, how hard can that test be? If you need to cheat to pass it, or worse be spoon-fed the questions, then what does that say about you and your intellect?
[…] investigation that recommended reforms. Cheating scandals came to light in Georgia this year, in Louisiana in 2019 and at the Santa Fe College Institute of Public Safety in Gainesville, Fla., in […]
[…] investigation that recommended reforms. Cheating scandals came to light in Georgia this year, in Louisiana in 2019 and at the Santa Fe College Institute of Public Safety in Gainesville, Fla., in […]