Statements from Gov. John Bel Edwards and Col. Lamar Davis on Federal Civil Investigation into Louisiana State Police

Statements from Gov. John Bel Edwards and Col. Lamar Davis on Federal Civil Investigation into Louisiana State Police

BATON ROUGE, La. — Today, the Governor’s Office and Louisiana State Police were briefed on the U.S. Department of Justice’s civil investigation into the patterns and practices of Louisiana State Police. Both Gov. Edwards and LSP Col. Lamar Davis pledged their support and cooperation with this federal investigation into the agency.

Gov. Edwards said:
"I welcome the U.S Department of Justice’s civil investigation into the patterns and practices of Louisiana State Police. It is deeply troubling that allegations of systemic misconduct exist that would warrant this type of investigation, but it is absolutely critical that all Louisianans, especially African Americans and other people of color, have their faith, confidence, and trust in public safety officers restored.
This investigation is one part of that process. I share the Department of Justice’s goal of ensuring that Louisiana State Police are policing in a constitutional way.
It is my expectation that all employees of the Louisiana State Police will cooperate fully and completely with this investigation. It is my commitment and that of Col. Lamar Davis to the U.S. Department of Justice that they will have complete cooperation from the agency.
I am confident in the leadership of Col. Davis, who has already made great strides in reforming the agency.
While I firmly believe that the vast majority of Louisiana State Police troopers meet the professional standards of law enforcement officers and protect and serve honorably, when some do not, our people, communities, and state suffer.
Working together, I am confident that Louisiana State Police will continue to make positive changes so that all of our people can feel protected and safe.”

Col. Lamar Davis said:
“Since accepting the position of Louisiana State Police Superintendent, I have vowed to regain the trust of our citizens, our law enforcement partners, our political leaders, and the men and women of our agency. The Department of Public Safety is comprised of over a 1,000 dedicated men and women within our commissioned ranks. Each of them display selfless service, courage, and integrity on a daily basis. Our personnel truly make a difference in our communities and I am grateful for the sacrifices they make on behalf of public safety. That does not change the fact that we have had some employees violate the trust of our citizens and of their colleagues. When that occurs, it is incumbent upon our agency to uphold our public safety oath and make the changes necessary to ensure that this does not ever happen again.
With today’s announcement of a Federal Civil Rights investigation, our agency will continue to offer our full cooperation as we have done with all investigations over the last several years. No one is more committed to implementing positive change within our agency than our own personnel who work tirelessly each day to provide professional public safety services to the state of Louisiana.
As our agency moves forward, we have taken great strides in amending policies such as banning chokeholds, banning the use of impact weapons to the head and neck, instituting a duty to intervene policy, and defining accountability for supervisors to review, track, and report excessive force incidents. Implicit bias training is already in effect and de-escalation/duty to intervene training will begin this year. These improvements and reforms affect every aspect of our department and are only possible through the dedicated efforts of our Troopers, DPS Police Officers, and support staff. These steps are vital to ensuring that we provide the best services and constitutional policing possible to the communities we serve.
We remain committed to the reform process through continued coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice and community stakeholders. Through this coordination, we will continue to implement critical changes within Louisiana State Police and build trust within our communities.”