At the risk of being accused of a terminal case of sour grapes, I have to say I’m more than a little taken aback at the self-serving HEADLINE of last Thursday (June 8) on the website of Baton Rouge TV station WBRZ.
Meaning no disrespect to Chris Nakamoto, who I would be the first to say, has done a herculean job of covering the sordid mess that is Louisiana State Police (LSP) and its affiliates, the State Police Commission (SPC), and the Louisiana State Police Association (LSPA).
Plus, I am keenly aware as a former newspaper reporter that reporters do not write the headlines to their stories. That is done by editors (although now operating as a one-person show, I am fully responsible for the headlines on LouisianaVoice stories, including this one).
But someone – I suppose we will never know whom – chose to word that headline to imply that the US Justice Department opened its civil rights investigation into LSP “amid years-long Nakamoto investigation.”
As a courtesy, news organizations generally give credit to competing services but not this time.
No mention was made of the early-on efforts of Maya Lau to cover LSP and its parent organization, the Louisiana Department of Corrections. Maya, a Vassar alumnus who has worked for The Shreveport Times and the Baton Rouge Advocate, had gone on to a much larger beat: the corruption-laden Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office (amont other major stories), as an investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times.
Nor were the probing reports of Jim Mustian, formerly of The Advocate and now with Associated Press cited. Mustian went even deeper into the LSP and was the first to report on the infamous tour-by-state police car taken by four troopers on their way to a San Diego confab where then-LSP Superintendent Mike Edmonson was being honored. The four took side trips to the Hoover Dam, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon en route to San Diego in that state vehicle – and charged overtime for the trip. The trip was the tipping point that led to Edmonson’s early departure as head of state police.
Mustian has continued his investigation of LSP in his current position at AP but of course, no mention was made of that in the headline.
And then there’s Robert Burns. No trained reporter he, but he seems to know which questions to ask – and when. And most times, they’ve been pretty embarrassing to the LSP brass. And Burns has demonstrated his superior knowledge of the court system and can usually predict in advance how a knotty case will be decided. But did Burns get any credit in that headline? Nope.
And Lea Skene of The Advocate and Melinda Deslatte, another stellar reporter for AP, along with reporters for Daily Kos, the New York Post, USA Today, WAFB TV of Baton Rouge, and writers for a host of several other news organizations have also contributed to the ongoing story of LSP, particularly as it pertains to troopers’ treatment of black motorists.
And lastly, there’s yours truly. Beginning in July 2014 (almost 8 long years ago), when LouisianaVoice broke the initial story of the attempt to sneak a bill through the legislature that would’ve increased Edmonson’s retirement (illegally) by some $100,000, I reported non-stop on corruption, sexual behavior (while on duty), drug use (while on duty) and a wide assortment of other misbehavior by state police from command staff all the way down to road troopers. I wrote dozens of stories over a period of at least two years before it became cool for others to do so. Gradually, other news organizations began to pay attention with WBRZ, quite truthfully, coming in in the late stages – long after Lau, Mustian, Burns, and LouisianaVoice – just in time to garner the plaudits for sound investigative reporting.
Okay, that’s a little unfair. Nakamoto did a helluva job when other TV stations in the Baton Rouge market paid scant attention. Hats off to him. He’s a tireless reporter and he deserves credit for a great job who also has to simultaneously cover corrupt behavior in other agencies.
But to ignore the efforts of the others seems a bit of an oversight, too.
Louisiana Voice 
I’m sure all those who reported on Public Safety and Corrections appreciate you crediting them and you, indeed, did exhaustive work on these issues that others chose to ignore, including those who had/have the power to make the department accountable for addressing them.
Nakamoto did, no doubt, see a parade and move to its head but, as you say, he deserves credit for doing more in-depth reporting than we can usually expect from a television reporter. His reporting may very well have ultimately tipped the scales to the federal investigation. His main contribution, though, was drawing attention to the issues for an audience that may not read news – It has been said that television news is the only news many people get*, so he surely reached people other sources of news missed.
*It is truly regrettable that so many people only trust news they get from the Fox Entertainment Network which sees itself under absolutely no obligation to attempt to present actual objective news, though they sometimes slip up and do when they have no choice – reporting natural disasters, for example.
I bought and read your book LA Rogue sheriffs. Very interesting.
There seems to be a trend in LA to elect ex Troopers to the office of Sheriff. Not sure how many current Sheriffs fit that profile but I suspect it to be well over 50%. Ex troopers also hire troopers who they served with. The culture follows them as you wrote about in your excellent book.
Keep up the good work.
T G, I haven’t ran the numbers, but I may have disagree with you. Let’s see if we can find out.
T G, my research has found that there are four sheriffs, out of the 64, that are former state troopers. Ten attended the LSP Training Academy, but I don’t think that makes them former state troopers. Found a few lawyers, former deputy sheriffs, and former police chiefs.
Poor baby.
Great article! Agree with MR. Winham. Channel 2 is following the trend outlined in 60 Minutes last night. Chris does a good job but again gotta do what Boss says. I get a kick out of the local investigations, mostly to show off Ms. Weiss new outfits, and to play to the opponents of our Mayor. I will defend our State Police and all local law enforcers. One must understand the chain of command and the daily change of challenges presented. The Republicans do and will politic and lie to promote themselves. Edmondson did a great job and now is consulting making big money. Keep learning and keep loving, top gun 44 ron thompson.