Louisiana Voice

The leak of nearly 350 pages of explosive confidential Louisiana State Police (LSP) internal documents shows to what extent LSP is willing to go to cover up scandals in order to protect its image as Louisiana’s premier law enforcement agency.

The failure of two members of the Special House Committee to Inquire into the Circumstances and Investigation of the Death of Ronald Greene to even acknowledge the receipt of documents on Monday may be an indication of just how serious the committee is in ferreting out details of Greene’s death in May 2019 and punishing those responsible.

Committee members likewise have shown reluctance to look into the physical abuse of former New Orleans attorney Ashton O’Dwyer by State Police from Troop F in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina despite his sending documents to the committee.

The internal communications contain information about an investigation into a cheating scandal by State Police cadets. The investigation was initiated in October 2019, just five months after Greene was beaten and tased to death by Troop F officers.

LSP quickly initiated damage control in what could have been a growing cheating scandal, fearing admission to widespread cheating could threaten future funding by the legislature of academy training.

Coming as it did on the heels of the Greene death, LSP command officials were desperate to conceal the fact that a copy of tests and Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) materials were stolen from the academy in 2018 by intern Tia Lavardain.

Tia Lavardain is the DAUGHTER of LSP Internal Affairs head Treone Lavardain who it was revealed conspired with Internal Affairs Commander Capt. Chavez Cammon and Master Trooper Kevin Ducote to cover up the Greene matter, according to an email included in the trove of documents leaked to LouisianaVoice and committee chairman Tanner Magee (R-Houma) and committee member Debbie Villio (R-Kenner).

The email also claimed that LSP Superintendent Col. Lamar Davis “is aware of this.”

Treone Lavardain is the niece of State Rep. Ed Lavardain, III (D-Alexandria).

Neither Magee nor Villio, who were sent copies of the documents, has acknowledged their receipt.

The email said that retired LSP Superintendent Col. Kevin Reeves “likely has …information in his journal regarding …the academy staff’s recommendation of terminating an entire academy class” because Reeves “did not want the legislature to find out about it because he was worried you all (members of the legislature) would vote against funding another academy after they all got caught cheating.”

On Wednesday, the three-year anniversary of Greene’s death, the committee voted unanimously to hold Reeves in CONTEMPT and fined him $5,000 for his refusal to turn over handwritten journals he kept while serving as superintendent of LSP. If the contempt citation is affirmed by the full House, lawmakers will ask a court to compel Reeves to surrender three handwritten journals.

The email also said that Chavez, Ducote and Treone Lavardain “all conspired to cover the Ronald Greene murder and discredit the training academy and Sgt. Scott Davis, just in case they spoke out.”

Davis was said to have become aware of an online chat between Cadet Michael Starling and his wife in which Starling admitted to having a copy of an exam that he obtained from Cadet Garrett Yetman. That discovery led to revelations of more widespread cheating on the part of cadets.

Cadets were found to possess copies of POST lesson plans, LSP exams and a copy of the POST exam.

Conflicts in the cheating investigation and the IA investigation into Greene’s death were compounded by the fact that Cammon had been involved in sexual relations with a cadet from Troop I in Lafayette who was in the 2019 class, the email said. The female cadet had even made a snap chat video claiming she was “hooking up with the captain of Internal Affairs.” Cammon made her delete the snap chat from her cellphone.

He was subsequently transferred to Public Affairs.

The source of the leaked documents said that Lt. Col. Doug Cain was aware of the cheating scandal but claimed that cheating was “not substantiated.” Cain is currently on paid administrative lead in connection with the Greene matter.

LSP ultimately said cheating had been limited to the activities of two cadets who were fired. What was not said was that one of those was rehired and that eight others resigned but were allowed to “un-resign.”

Starling was one of those who was fired and later reinstated “when they (LSP) went into coverup mode,” the source said.

“Faye Morrison, the former lead counsel for state police, allowed these people to be hired back after being fired and resigning,” one of the emails said. “[This was] unprecedented.”  

“[Col. Lamar] Davis, Chavez [Cammon], Morrison and Cane (sic) are fully aware.  The current captain of the training academy, who was Doug Cain’s right-hand-man and the former Captain of the training academy, Mark Richards, are fully aware of this.”