When Baton Rouge’s Bucky Richardson was raising eyebrows with his outstanding quarterback play at Texas A&M, his then-brother-in-law Charles Dupuy was a regular sight as he barreled west along I-10 at 80-90 mph with his family as they headed to College Station to watch Bucky play – in a Louisiana State Police vehicle assigned to Dupuy.
It was not the last out-of-state pleasure trip for a vehicle assigned to Dupuy, of course.
Bucky played for the Aggies from 1987-1991, so those out-of-state pleasure sojourns to Aggieland in an official state vehicle preceded the infamous 2015 San Diego trip in the vehicle assigned to Dupuy that led to former State Police Commander Mike Edmonson’s departure by several years but may well have established the precedent for using state vehicles for unofficial out-of-state travel.
Dupuy is no longer Bucky’s brother-in-law, having divorced Richardson’s sister, and as of May 2018, he is no longer a Louisiana State Trooper. Following the purge of Mike Edmonson’s inner circle following Edmonson’s own ouster in 2017, he was demoted from the rank of lieutenant colonel to major.
Dupuy, long considered as Edmonson’s heir-apparent before that San Diego trip disrupted those plans, may now be referred to simply as plaintiff.
Dupuy, it seems, is SUING his old employer. He’s not suing for job discrimination or anything like that; he’s suing in connection with an auto accident he had with….a state trooper.
Dupuy is claiming in his lawsuit, filed in 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, that Trooper William Ray Stogner blew a red light and slammed into Dupuy’s 2019 Dodge Ram on LA. 446 near U.S. 190 in Tangipahoa.
Stogner, the lawsuit says, was allegedly responding to a call with his emergency lights activated. But the lawsuit claims that the call to which Stogner was responding did not require emergency sirens and did not allow Stogner to disregard traffic signals or the safety of the public.
Dupuy claims in his lawsuit that the Department of Public Safety “caused and/or contributed to the subject collision due to their negligent hiring, training and/or supervision” of Stogner.
But here’s the thing:
When Dupuy was DEMOTED from Lieutenant colonel to major in March 2017, he was sent to the State Police Academy. His new title was Command Inspector, Training.
He served in that capacity from March 31, 2017, until his retirement on May 7, 2018. He was making $140,800 a year at the time of his retirement.
Stogner? He entered the State Police Academy on Nov. 5, 2017. Academy training lasts from 12 to 18 weeks. He was listed as a cadet from Nov. 5, 2017 until Nov. 11, 2018, because new troopers are on probationary status for their first year.
That means that for the duration of Stogner’s time training at the academy, one Maj. Charles Dupuy was Command Inspector, Training, for the Louisiana State Police Academy.
So, the man who is suing his former employer for negligent training and supervision was himself responsible for Stogner’s training and supervision for the entire time that Stogner attended the academy.
That should make for some interesting cross-examination testimony if this case ever goes to trial.
But unless things have undergone a dramatic change i.e., a complete makeover, in the good ol’ boy network at LSP, this could be one of those cases that is settled quietly, out of the public eye and where settlement terms are deemed “confidential” so that Louisiana taxpayers who ultimately foot the bill will never know settlement amounts or attorney fees.
William Ray Stogner – State Police Cadet: 11/05/2017 – 11/14/2018
Charles Dupuy – Major, State Police Academy, Command Inspector, Training: 03/31/2017 – 05/07/2018
Louisiana Voice 
Someone should examine the “official” training transcripts of all the troopers involved in wrongdoing. Amazingly, most of the Edmonson gang had not completed the annual ethics course required of all state employees nor had they completed the required prevention of sexual harassment. Add to that the number of troopers disregarding the requirement for defensive driving every 2 years required by all state employees. Check official training transcripts! I wonder if troopers involved in vehicle accidents have the required defensive driving training? Wouldn’t that be interesting to make that correlation.
AS, I am a former employee of the legislature. I do remember videos and programs we had to view or attend, for risk management purposes. However, I am not familiar with the defensive driving requirement for state employees. Anyway, what does any of that have to do with the lawsuit filed by a former trooper who was involved in the training of the trooper who caused the traffic accident of which he is suing?
I thought that name seemed familiar when I first heard the lawsuit being reported last week. I’d love to witness some of that cross-examination myself, lol.
r/
Great article does seem funny, but having taught Sexual Harassment, Military intelligence, communication security, and many more liability/risk management, I think he has a good case. I assume he was in his private automobile??? thanks
As an appointed member of a parish commission, I am required to take the annual course in ethics. I suspect this is one of the many laws simply being ignored. While ethics should largely be common sense for people who have the capacity to distinguish between right and wrong, the training is a good reminder of the basic principles.
P. S. I wonder how many civil laws really are routinely ignored? Too many of the ones that are acknowledged are considered mere guidelines because there are no repercussions for violating them. The same common sense and decency that guide ethical behavior should tell us to either enforce them or take them off the books.
I think the gist of Tom’s post is the irony of the lawsuit. Former trooper Dupuy is claiming in his lawsuit that the accident was due to the negligence in the hiring, training, and supervision of the trooper driving the unit. The claims of negligence in the hiring and supervision of the defendant trooper is a stretch. So that leaves the negligence in the training of the trooper. Tom’s research has found that six to seven months of the time the trooper was at the academy, the plaintiff, Charles Dupuy, was involved in the training of this trooper. Dupuy held the title of Command Inspector, Training, at the trooper academy. Like Tom and kamarcan, I would love to hear the cross examination of former trooper Dupuy.
Clifford, I agree with you. One thing to consider, however, is how much of the time the plaintiff was in his final position he may have actually been on leave. Typically, long term employees have substantial accumulated leave and take the amount for which they cannot be compensated at the end of their careers. That may factor into the issue you raise.
Thanks, Stephen. I didn’t think of that. But, I don’t think that would absolve him.