Louisiana Voice

The investigation of Ronald Greene’s death at the hands of state police is, much like the investigation into wholesale cheating by the State Police Academy Class of 2019, is plunging headlong into a classic political whitewashing.

The investigation, of course, is not without its collateral damage, a necessary accompaniment to appease the immediate family of the victim of the May 10, 2019 beating and tasing death that was initially attributed to injuries suffered in an auto accident.

Kevin Reeves RETIRED in the wake of the investigation as it was heating up. Mike Noel RESIGNED only days after being nominated to the chairmanship of the State Gaming Commission rather than face questioning from a Senate Committee during confirmation hearings about his role in the coverup of the Greene matter.

Several others resigned either in disgust or protest for the clumsy effort by State Police command to cover up of the manner in which Greene died – which in fact was far worse than how George Floyd had died only a couple of months earlier. Floyd, after all, died as a single officer knelt on his neck but Greene was attacked by several cops beat, kicked, and tased him long after he had ceased any resistance and while he was handcuffed.

Plus, no one ever lied about the circumstances of Floyd’s death. The truth was there for all to see from day one. With Greene, the lies began immediately with the concoction of the false narrative that he had died from injuries in what was as minor motor vehicle accident at worst. Body cam video did not surface for several months and LSP even denied its existence before the lie was revealed. The fact was that he had exited from his car after it sideswiped a tree and was apologizing to officers for fleeing when he was attacked.

Others have either been demoted or placed on leave. Chief legal counsel Faye Dysart Morrison was demoted and Louisiana State Police (LSP) second-in-command, Lt. Col. Doug Cain, who once confided to LouisianaVoice that he aspired to become LSP superintendent, was placed on administrative leave.

Both Morrison and Cain had their cellphones erased in the wake of the Greene investigation, a clear case of illegal destruction of evidence. Others, including Reeves, likewise had their phones swiped, but Reeves had retired and justified the erasure as routine so that his phone could be re-issued. That, of course, changed nothing insofar as destruction of evidence in the Greene matter was concerned.

While Morrison appears to have accepted her demotion, LouisianaVoice has received word that Cain, a holdover from the Mike Edmonson LSP administration, would not be receptive to such a loss of status and would refuse to return to duty at a reduction in rank.

Meanwhile, LouisianaVoice has also learned that LSP command staff is upset that we received – and published – information from leaked documents concerning the 2019 academy cheating scandal and, in classic shoot-the-messenger mode, have initiated an extensive effort to determine the source of the leak.

That would be typical of many bureaucracies: rather than attempt to solve the problem when identified, go after the source of information about the problem, all while attempting to minimize the extend of the problem.

LSP has attempted to trivialize the cheating scandal, claiming that information found in possession of cadets was no more than “study materials,” but that claim is hotly disputed by those who were there. The materials were copies of tests. Period. And there were copies of information provided by previous cadets, who were by then, full-fledged road troopers.

Cheating, according to those who actually conducted the investigation before it was abruptly halted by higher-ups, extended back several years and involved previous classes, possibly even the class attended by Reeves’s son.

The involvement of other “legacy” cadets, i.e. relatives of command staff and of influential political figures such as sheriffs and police chiefs, would explain the sudden reluctance to pursue an all-out investigation of the cheating or the firing of the entire class, which at least one investigator recommended.

So, now we have patrolling the highways of Louisiana graduates of the LSP academy, active state troopers making a lot more money than you – those who got through the academy by cheating – writing you tickets for speeding, rolling stops at stop signs, improper lane usage and other offenses.

And if you’re the wrong color and driving around any of the 12 parishes in Troop F in northeast Louisiana, you’d better drive very carefully and keep your mouth shut if you’re pulled over.

Otherwise, “Troop F is very proud to protect and serve the citizens of Louisiana, and we enthusiastically welcome visitors to our great state. If we can assist you in any way, or if you have questions concerning Troop F, please contact our Public Information Officer…”

It says so, right there on its Web page.

And if you need additional assurance, you can get a warm fuzzy from reading on the LSP Web page: “Louisiana State Police is an organization with an incredibly rich history. Our motto, ‘Courtesy, Loyalty, Service,’ has given us direction and inspiration.”