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BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (AP) – The Louisiana state police chief on Friday said he wanted to know why 67% of his agency’s use of force in recent years were directed against blacks, and would welcome favorably a model of the US Department of Justice. and practice ”investigates potential racial profiling if deemed necessary.
“If the community is concerned about this, obviously I am concerned about it,” Col. Lamar Davis told The Associated Press in an interview. “I am a black man. I don’t want to feel like I’m going to be pulled over and thrown across a car just because of this, and I don’t want anyone else to feel that.
Davis’ comments came a day after a PA investigation identified at least a dozen cases over the past decade in which state police or their bosses have ignored or covered up evidence of beatings, deflected blame, and hampered efforts to root out misconduct. It included several body camera videos recently obtained from violent arrests that had been locked up for years.
“It challenged me emotionally, not only from a law enforcement perspective but as a citizen,” Davis said of viewing the footage. “But I have to control my emotions and understand what my functions are.”
“I don’t want the community to think we’re going to ‘get them’. These are the kinds of things I try to get to the root of.
At a previous Baton Rouge press conference, Davis outlined a series of reforms he implemented during his 11 months as State Police Superintendent, including new policies and practices on how his agency handles cases of excessive force. He also said he was looking to hire an outside agency to continue the work of a secret committee that state police had set up to determine whether soldiers systematically mistreated black motorists. He admitted that the panel was closed in July following leaks about his work.
Davis, in the interview, said he did not believe excessive force had become sufficiently prevalent among state soldiers to warrant an investigation of models and practices by the Department of Justice. However, he said he wanted the opportunity to correct the agency’s problems before federal authorities intervened, stressing the benefits of hiring an outside firm to conduct a comparable review.
“As far as the Department of Justice is concerned, if they decide to come and assess us on this, I welcome that,” Davis said at the press conference. “I’m not going to wait for them. I am already in touch with other organizations to look at my agency and help us become better.
Shortly after Davis’ press conference, U.S. Representative Troy Carter joined a growing chorus of officials and activists calling on Attorney General Merrick Garland to intervene. The Justice Department launched investigations into the patterns and practices earlier this year in Minneapolis, Louisville and Phoenix, but has not said whether it is considering a similar investigation in Louisiana.
“It is clear that the LSP will not clean its own house… I have no confidence that they will be able to control themselves,” Carter, a Democrat from New Orleans, said in a statement.
State police have been under scrutiny since May, when the AP released unseen body camera footage of Ronald Greene’s 2019 fatal arrest on a highway in northern Louisiana, a Death Soldier originally attributed to injuries caused by a car crash. The footage showed stunned soldiers, beating and dragging the black motorist and leaving him lying on the ground for more than nine minutes.
Davis also confirmed on Friday that an internal investigation did not result in any discipline against Lt. John Clary, the most senior official at the scene of Greene’s death, who was accused of denying the existence of his own body camera video. for almost two years. Davis said the agency “couldn’t say for sure if he” had “intentionally withheld” the footage.
This week, state police also removed Clary from escorting Louisiana Tech’s football coach to games as the FBI investigates role in Greene’s murderous arrest.
Clary held the unpaid post for at least nine years, according to the university, and escorted Bulldogs head coach Skip Holtz on Saturday in a televised game against Mississippi State. Her appearance at the match, first reported by WBRZ-TV, drew criticism from civil rights activists who accused Louisiana Tech of neglecting the seriousness of the allegations facing Clary.
Clary and her attorney did not return any messages seeking comment.
Davis also sought to downplay a meeting on May 20 – the day after AP posted graphic footage of Greene’s death – in which state police officials traveled to Ruston to review long-hidden body camera video with Union Parish district attorney John Belton. . Belton became so concerned about the circumstances of Greene’s death two years ago that he referred the case to federal authorities, who launched a civil rights investigation.
The staff argued at the meeting that the soldiers’ actions were justified in Greene’s arrest, according to several people familiar with the meeting, which itself was the subject of a federal investigation. on a possible obstruction of justice. But Davis insisted on Friday that he had not asked Belton “or any other official not to lay charges against any of my employees” in Greene’s death.
“I would never do that,” Davis said. “I have never done that.”
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Bleiberg reported from Dallas and Mustian from New York.
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