Louisiana State Police (LSP) Lt. Russell Graham as he testified at his August 8, 2023 appeal hearing before the Louisiana State Police Commission.
On February 9, 2023, Sound Off Louisiana‘s founder, Robert Burns, was stunned to see approximately 17 LSP Troopers in attendance and in uniform at the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC) meeting scheduled for that day.
So many troopers were present as intended witnesses in an appeal hearing for LSP Lt. Russell Graham, whom LSP Col. Lamar Davis suspended for 40 hours as a result of an incident at the LSP Training Academy swimming pool on February 16, 2022 with then-Cadet Kevin Blake. The hearing was continued because Graham’s legal counsel, Louisiana State Trooper’s Association (LSTA) attorney Mary White, informed the Commission that documents Graham sought for the hearing, namely text messages and emails pertaining to the incident, had not been provided to Graham.
Accordingly, the hearing was continued until August 10, 2023. That hearing lasted, including breaks, for approximately nine (9) hours. We’ll be providing highlights of the appeal hearing in this feature.
Let us begin with LSP’s “star witness,” Sgt. Georgiana Lynn Kibodeaux Sonnier. We want to start out by stating that Sonnier places second only to former LSP Col. Mike Edmonson regarding her ability to ramble on for extended periods and say next to nothing. We were so thankful that, after her repetitively engaging in such “responses” to questions, LSPC Chairman Eulis Simien finally said, “It may help if you just answer the question and then elaborate if you’d like.” Anyone who could read Burns’ mind would have heard it stating a very loud “Amen” to Simien’s admonition!
We are going to admit up front that trying to capture the essence of what Sonnier had to say given the incredibly long period for which she was on the stand was no easy task. Nevertheless, we believe that the following 18-minute video, which includes video of the swimming pool incident transpiring between Blake and Graham, adequately covers her testimony (as well as her apparent perjury on the witness stand, which White demonstrated in extremely authoritative fashion):
August 8, 2023 testimony of LSP Sgt. Georgiana Lynn Kibodeaux Sonnier entailing the appeal of Lt. Russell Graham.
We believe that the above video, as much of an embarrassment as it should be to LSP (and not because of anything Graham did but rather the utter absurdity of tying up literally several thousand manhours to pursue this whole incident), speaks for itself, so we will make no comment upon it.
LSP then paraded in a group of troopers, all of whom essentially stated that Graham, though normally a top-notch trainer, acted inappropriately in the swimming pool incident reflected on the video above. Everyone stipulated that Blake was a “slacker,” and consistently failed to carry his share of the load and slowed down the progress of the other cadets in the class.
Now, Blake, who dropped out of the Training Academy sometime after the incident, did not file any complaint (or at least none was indicated). Instead, Col. Lamar Davis, who testified for 23 minutes at the hearing, indicated that, after talk of the incident began to circulate combined with that talk making its way, “up the chain of command,” he asked that an administrative investigation be launched into the matter.
Blake himself did testify, and we feel it only fair to provide both his testimony in full as well as the testimony of Lt. Graham (which will follow shortly). Here’s a video of Blake’s testimony:
August 8, 2023 testimony of Kevin Blake entailing the appeal of Lt. Russell Graham.
Similarly to LSP, Graham also had several troopers who were from Blake’s Cadet Class (100) testify before the Commission, and he also had Sgt. Kory Borcherding testify via Zoom from California entailing the incident. The link for the testimony we just supplied for troopers testifying favorably entailing Lt. Graham includes every such trooper but one. We felt that trooper, Roy Jones, who testified for less than five minutes, deserves to have his testimony on prominent display, and so here is Trooper Jones’ testimony:
August 8, 2023 testimony of Trooper Roy Jones entailing the appeal of Lt. Russell Graham.
Graham also sought and obtained the testimony of LSP Training Academy nurse Elaine Cammarosano. Her testimony lasted less than four minutes, and we provide it at this time:
August 8, 2023 testimony of LSP Training Academy nurse Elaine Cammarosano entailing the appeal of Lt. Russell Graham.
Now for Graham’s testimony in its entirety:
August 8, 2023 testimony of Lt. Russell Graham entailing his own appeal hearing.
Now, we’ve provided the link for LSP Col. Davis’ testimony in its entirety for anyone who wishes to view it, but we want to draw special focus to Davis’ statement to LSPC Commissioner Jarred Riecke when Riecke asked if Graham’s actions were analogous to “the old days” when a high school football coach may grab a player by the facemask and get on his case for a poor performance on the field. In Davis’ response, he had the unmitigated gall to, though he didn’t reference Ronald Greene by name, state that the Graham incident was, “eerily similar to a situation that took place in the public where you have someone saying ‘please stop’ and we’re not.” Here’s the video:
August 8, 2023 testimony of LSP Col. Lamar Davis stating that the Graham incident is “eerily similar” to another incident which is clearly referencing Ronald Greene.
WOW!! So here we have a Colonel who shows reckless disregard for public safety in speeding at a rate of 92 MPH over a section of I-10 over the Atchafalaya Basin which has been designated as a dangerous section and for which the speed limit is 60 MPH. He then compounds his irresponsible act by indicating that it is “permissible” for the trooper who clocked him at that speed and pulled him over to, “turn off his body cam because the situation was assessed as non-combative.” That statement still absolutely infuriates us more with each passing day that he declines to retract it!
WOW! When we watch the Ronald Greene video, Greene sure appeared non-combative to us. So, according to Davis, those troopers who deactivated their body cams did nothing wrong because the suspect didn’t appear combative!
Notwithstanding all of that, for the Head of LSP, Col. Lamar Davis himself, to have the audacity and unmitigated gall to compare the Russell Graham incident depicted on the first video above to the following video (with special focus on the 11:50 – 16:00 mark) is so far beyond the pale that words can’t adequately describe the abject insult that his words are to the Greene family (at least in our eyes):
May 10, 2019 video of the arrest and in-custody death of Ronald Greene, (with specific attention directed at the 11:50 – 16:00 mark).
In fact we’re going to now present a table (our subscribers may note that we’re quite fond of them) contrasting the Greene arrest with the Graham incident so we can outline just how “eerily similar” the two incidents are:
Incident Item | Ronald Greene | Kevin Blake |
---|---|---|
Date of incident | May 10, 2019 | February 16, 2022 |
Date of commencement of IA/administrative investigation | September 15, 2020. | March 2, 2022. |
Days from incident until IA/Administrative investigation commences. | 494 | 14 |
Impact upon subject | Death. | No injuries whatsoever (per nurse above) |
# of LSP Troopers involved | On scene = 5-6 (one of whom is deceased due to either a suicide or accident); As part of subsequent massive coverup = unknown. | One (Russell Graham). |
Transparency. | Nonexistent with video not even surfacing until 1 1/2 years later and then only due to leak to AP reporter. | Immediate and total with video being provided during 8/8/23 appeal hearing. |
Federal involvement. | Played into ongoing "pattern and practices" investigation, Federal Grand Jury convened for charges that never materialized. | None. |
State prosecution. | Although it appears on life support as a result of prosecutorial ineptitude, 17 indictments were collectively handed down by a grand jury. | None. |
Phone "sanitized?" | YES. | NO. |
National news media coverage. | Although insufficient given what transpired, yes. | No. |
Governor John Bel Edwards forced to address the matter? | Yes, in a press conference immediately after meeting with the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus. | No. |
We’ll let the public weigh in with their thoughts but, to us, it doesn’t look like the two incidents are even remotely similar, much less, “eerily similar.”
So, what was the outcome of the appeal hearing? Well, that’s the best part! The LSPC opted to defer a decision until its next meeting, which is Thursday, September 14, 2023. Let’s take a look at closing arguments from August 8, 2023:
Closing arguments in the appeal of LSP Lt. Russell Graham.
As noted in the video above, Chairman Eulis Simien, Jr., indicated that the Commission would, immediately upon convening on Thursday, “go into Executive Session.”
We want to make sure every single trooper in this state is aware that, if he or she is the subject of an appeal hearing, the LSPC can go into Executive Session ONLY if the trooper gives his or her consent! That is pursuant to LA R. S. 42:17 (A)(1)).
That’s one statue Burns knows by heart as he litigated that very matter entailing an Auctioneer Licensing Board meeting of September 17, 2012. It makes for an interesting read of the documents (including a transcript of the trial which Burns conducted pro se in front of Judge Wilson Fields) for anyone who may wish to invest the time.
We’ll be there on Thursday, and we’ll report upon the LSPC’s decision and, from a selfish standpoint, we sincerely hope Graham invokes his right pursuant to LA R. S. 42:17(A)(1) and insists that the LSPC deliberate in an open forum to where we can videotape everything each Commissioner has to say on the matter!
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Georgiana Lynn Kibodeaux Sonnier is a criminal. Funny thing, she was wearing a uniform and state police badge while driving a state police uniform before she was a trooper. Her and Mike Edmonson were very very very close. As an investigator, edmonson let her put on a Class A state trooper uniform and drive a state police marked unit before she had even attended the state police academy. Her father was a trooper and a lackey for the department.
She didn’t get Sgt. In internal affairs because of her ethical and moral compass. She literally admits she started the interview on lies. You have to wonder with this coverup, how very very very close is she with Colonel Davis. He did promote her well outside of her abilities. She has not had to answer for the violations we saw in this clip. She submitted a falsified report.
https://youtu.be/9TA476XDZyU?si=TykYzvBkkTXjsIS_
Her closeness with colonels and sheer stupidity that is common with her other five and eight year supervisors and troopers in internal affairs were chosen as hatchet men to go after anyone who goes against Davis. He is a criminal also as he has covered up violations performed by Chavez, improper relationships with cadets and covering up the Ronald Greene’s murder. They also covered up the cheating scandal.
Davis makes Lavardain a LT colonel who would oversee IA when she covered up abuses at Troop F and her daughter providing stolen tests to her classmates.
A complaint should be filed on Sgt. Georgiana sonnier for conduct unbecoming for lying on a state document, IA Report. She also committed perjury in a civil proceeding after swearing an oath.
Failure to do so, gives troopers free reign to lie in all investigations. She should be demoted, transferred and suspended for the embarrassment she has bestowed upon herself and the department.
I think all citizens of LA should do the same, here is the link.
https://lspfeedback.dps.louisiana.gov/Complaint/*
While we are at it, did the colonel ever serve his suspension for going over 100 miles per hour because he was running late to Lake Charles for a meeting on the bridge?
The man himself, Col Davis, has said it countless times… he pledges to hold accountable those who violate the trust of the public or their colleagues.
On Nov 16, 2020, Kalb reports:
Col Davis “says he will focus on accountability and fairness as he transitions into the role and hopefully transforms the state’s top law enforcement agency.
‘I really want our agency to focus on taking care of the public, keeping the public safe, building our accountability and building trust,’ he says.”
Davis tells reporter Scottie Hunter “there are some changes he wants to bring into the role. He says he will equally support his officers but will also step in and hold them accountable. Davis tells the 9News Investigators he ‘plans to be vocal and out-front regardless of the situation.’
On Sept 10, 2021, The Daily Advertiser reports:
While pledging agency reform to stem excessive force and increase transparency, Davis says “we have had some employees who have violated the trust of our citizens and our co-workers. You have my commitment to do everything possible to hold them accountable for their actions and behavior. I will not compromise.”
June 9, 2022, from LSP.org
Statements from Gov. John Bel Edwards and Col. Lamar Davis on Federal Civil Investigation into Louisiana State Police
Davis says “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…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.”
Georgiana Lynn Kibodeaux Sonnier has zero integrity. (Davis also likes to preach about integrity.) She committed a crime to fit a narrative. If she is willing to lie about a colleague, what is she willing to do to the general public? She’s a Brady issue now and should be fired. Let’s see if Davis keeps his word and holds her accountable, but who is going to hold HIM accountable when he doesn’t?!
(Also kinda crazy how he stands on his high horse speaking about integrity, transparency, and accountability but surrounds himself with people who lack integrity. Funny how you don’t hear anything about those “scandals”- I guess transparency and accountability don’t apply to them. Makes you wonder what they know.)