State Police Commission likely to face the Super Bowl of trooper appeals as Trooper Carl Cavalier, author of “Nigger with a badge,” is informed he’ll be terminated by State Police.

Pre-sale advertisement of the book “Nigger With a Badge” authored by Louisiana State Police Trooper Carl Cavalier, who was notified on October 8, 2021 that he will be terminated from LSP.

On June 10, 2021, we published this feature outlining a week of jam-packed activity within Louisiana State Police (LSP).  One of the items we snuck in that feature which attracted very little attention at the time is the following item (#5 on the list), which we repeat at this time:

5.  (New revelation by Sound Off Louisiana).  Several LSP sources have informed us that LSP’s upper brass is not pleased at all with the upcoming release of a book entitled, “Nigger with a badge.”  We have already pre-ordered a copy.  Sources tell us that LSP is suspicious that an active trooper wrote the book and that LSP is “going after him” as a result.  We’ll certainly report on the book’s contents upon our own reading of it.

We did order the book, but we have deferred commenting on it.

As noted above, LSP conducted an investigation into the book’s authorship.  We doubt LSP had to perform much of an investigation in that regard, however, because, when we ordered the book, the receipt for the $50 we paid for the book clearly showed the funds going into an account entitled “Carl Cavalier.”

Once the book was published, Cavalier was seen on several occasions on WBRZ (Channel 2 in Baton Rouge) being interviewed by the station’s chief investigative reporter, Chris Nakamoto.  Here is the link for one of those interviews hosted on the Baton Rouge Chapter of the Louisiana NAACP’s Facebook page.

Cavalier was initially suspended for 200 hours and transferred to LSP’s Gaming Division.  However, in what may have been the final straw for LSP, Cavalier filed this pro-se lawsuit against LSP on September 30, 2021.  From that lawsuit:

On or about June 11, 2021, Petitioner received a phone call from Sgt. Dave Floss regarding a secondary employment application. These questions were directly related to allegations that Petitioner had authored a work of fiction wherein LSP was harshly criticized. Sgt. Floss requested a copy of the book (NWB was released July, 2021).

On or about July 20, 2021 Petitioner was interviewed by LSP: Internal Affairs regarding a complaint he filed against Faye Dysart Morrison, Assistant Secretary of Legal Affairs. At the conclusion of the interview, LTC Van Buren gave Petitioner a hard copy of LSP Procedure Order 901 Code of Ethics, Subsection 42 -Public Statements regarding media contact, specifically
regarding a television interview with WBRZ Investigative Reporter Chris Nakamoto on June 28, 2021 .

Petitioner gave the following television and radio interviews regarding criminal conduct by commissioned personnel of Louisiana State Police: June 28, 2021 WBRZ with Chris Nakamoto; July 22, 2021 WBOK New Orleans Radio; July 25, 2021 Interview with Eugene Collins, President of Baton Rouge NAACP; July 28, 2021 Instagram Live interview with Dr. Jamal Taylor; August 18, 2021, WWL Channel 4 Interview with Mike Perlstein.

On or about August 2, 2021, Petitioner returned to active duty at LSP. He was immediately involuntarily transferred from Narcotics to Gaming. This action was a constructive demotion to a far less desirable position than Petitioner previously occupied. Petitioner has eleven (11) years of law enforcement employment, but has no experience with gaming, or casino regulation.  Additionally, he was also given correspondence advising him that he was now on administrative leave pending investigation and again sent to his residence indefinitely.

On August 27, 2021, Petitioner received a letter informing him that he would be suspended without pay for forty (40) hours for violation of the LSP Policy on Secondary Employment and one hundred and sixty (160) hours for violation of the LSP Policy on Conduct Unbecoming an Officer. This proposed suspension will result in a loss of income in the amount of five thousand, six hundred and seventy-eight dollars and 00/100 ($5,678.00).

Petitioner contends that the actions directed at him constituted illegal race-based harassment/discrimination and were taken in retaliation /reprisal for his whistle blowing activity.

As we indicated, the filing of the pro-se lawsuit just may have been the proverbial final straw. At any rate, on October 8, 2021, Cavalier was informed that he would be terminated as reflected in the following Findings of an LSP Administrative Investigation:

 

We corresponded with a number of retired troopers regarding Cavalier.  Those retired troopers, while understanding of Cavalier’s goal, nevertheless expressed apprehension about details of the book, which Cavalier now states (see lawsuit material above) is a “work of fiction.”

Specifically, one retried LSP Lieutenant cited violations of LSP Policy and Procedures outlined as having been committed by the author of the book.  Further, at least one retired trooper expressed concern over Cavalier’s handling of the following French Quarter arrest on June 24, 2016:


June 24, 2016 arrest of two drunks in the French Quarter in New Orleans.

We also reached out to Ms. Belinda Parker-Brown with Louisiana United International regarding this development.  She stated:  “This is how this officer was treated once he came into contact with the murder of Ronald Greene.  He became frustrated as he began to seek justice for Ronald Greene.  He angered his superiors, and that is what has led to his termination.  We need to all come together and protect courageous whistleblowers who see these injustices being covered up.”

So, given that an appeal of his termination is all-but-certain, we’ll be there to cover that appeal.  We have a feeling that, given the nature of this termination and the circumstances surrounding it, we’ll be far from alone in terms of media outlets covering that appeal.

We have material to present entailing other LSP appeals, but we’ll save that for a subsequent post.

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One day after grand opening of hair braiding facility, Wadvisha Chavis lets Cosmetology Board know she does not need a manager, thus demonstrating why IJ’s litigation needs to succeed.

Advertisement of Wadvisha Chavis’ grand opening of a her hair braiding facility, which transpired one day prior to her arguments before the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology that she does not need a manager in her facility.

We are happy to report that today’s meeting of the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology (LSBC) did not have all the drama that the prior meeting of August 2, 2021 had.  That was certainly a favorable development.  As most subscribers and visitors know by now, we felt we had little choice but to expose what may be behind LSBC Chairman Edwin Neill III’s obvious anger issues at that prior meeting.

Near the end of that feature, we updated everyone on the status of The Institute for Justice’s ongoing litigation against the LSBC entailing hair braiding.  From that feature:

Before we wrap up this feature, however, we need to address one more issue, and that is the ongoing litigation which the Institute for Justice (IJ) filed against the LSBC regarding hair braiding.  As we previously reported, IJ’s Lee McGrath attempted to work with the LSBC to avoid litigation.  However, as we reported, the LSBC members let McGrath’s words to them go in one ear and out the other, thus triggering the litigation.

Little was noted to have transpired in the public filings entailing the lawsuit since its original filing on June 20, 2019.  That all changed on September 10, 2021, however, when IJ filed this Motion for Summary Judgment.  When one party files a Motion for Summary Judgment, it is asserting that there are no issues of material fact existing in the matter and that the moving party (IJ in this instance) is entitled to a judgment in its favor as an operation of law without the need for a trial.  IJ is posing just such an argument in the just-linked Motion.

As of the date of this publication (Tuesday, October 5, 2021), Judge Wilson Fields has not yet set the matter for a hearing.  Once he does, IJ will pose oral arguments supporting its Motion, and the LSBC will pose its own oral arguments (after first submitting an Opposition Memorandum no less than eight days prior to the hearing) for why it feels IJ’s Motion should be denied.

As fate would have it, Ms. Wadvisha Chavis celebrated the opening of her new hair braiding facility on Sunday, October 10, 2021, the day prior to today’s LSBC meeting.  Understandably, Chavis was very excited; however, that did not stop her from showing up at today’s LSBC meeting to let the members know that she sees no reason for the LSBC to place an unnecessary burden upon her of requiring a “manager” (i.e. licensed cosmetologist) anytime the facility is open.

Chavis, who completed the LSBC’s hair braiding permit process (which itself requires 500 hours), presented very professionally to the LSBC her rationale for why she should not need a “manager” in her newly-opened facility.

 Of course, what unfolded was the classic battle between a state bureaucrat (in the person of LSBC Executive Director Steve Young) and a budding entrepreneur about whether and why such added red tape and cost exists for operating a hair braiding facility.  Let’s take a look at Chavis’ full presentation and the discussion thereof:


Chavis states her case for why no manager should be needed at her facility, and the LSBC discusses why such a manager is required and a possible compromise.

Notice how Chavis stresses the hardships placed upon her and others (Chavis emphasized being a single mom) and contrasts Texas’ far less onerous requirements to practice hair braiding in that state.

We want to make sure everyone is aware of one thing.  That “compromise” we reference in text beneath the video is the fact that the LSBC decided to let eyebrow threaders operate facilities that focus solely and exclusively on eyebrow threading.  Those facilities are not required to have a “manager” (i.e. licensed cosmetologist) onsite.  We want to ensure that nobody is fooled into believing that the LSBC took that action out of the goodness of their collective hearts!

Quite the contrary, the LSBC’s actions regarding eyebrow threaders transpired ONLY as a result of yet another instance wherein IJ had to sue the LSBC.

It’s time for Louisiana to have leadership in the Governor’s Mansion, at the Legislature, and at the local governmental level (in sharp contrast to small business/farmer obstructionist St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars) that will enable our hard-working citizens to simply work for a living without needless bureaucratic red tape and unnecessary added costs such as that presently being crammed down Ms. Chavis’ throat by the LSBC!

It’s our sincere hope IJ’s litigation on the hair braiding succeeds and that Chavis and any other aspiring hair braider can practice freely and without regulation in Louisiana!

CLICK HERE to see the October 11, 2021 LSBC meeting in its entirety.

If you would like to be added to our Sound Off Louisiana email list to be notified of future posts, simply go to our home page and scroll to the bottom (mobile devices) or to the top of the right-hand column (desktops).  Supply your email address within the subscribe box.  You’ll then receive an automated email from Word Press, and all you have to do is click on the blue “confirm follow” bar contained within that email, and you’ll begin receiving great posts such as the preceding one above.

Kathryn Simpson, daughter of murder victim Kimberly Womack, asserts DA Clayton vowed to “fight all the way to the Louisiana Supreme Court” to block her obtaining her mother’s murder investigation file.

Kathryn Simpson, daughter of Pointe Coupee murder victim Kimberly Womack, visits with Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns to provide insight into some of her frustrations with 18th Judicial District Attorney Tony Clayton entailing the investigation of her mother’s 2008 murder.

Only a few days ago, we published this introductory feature entailing murder victim families’ allegations that 18th Judicial District Attorney Tony Clayton has been “corrupt” entailing actions of his office regarding those families’ murder investigations.

In the first installment of the series, we sat down with Ms. Simpson and provided her with the opportunity to Sound Off on her concerns regarding her own mother’s murder investigation.  During our interview, Simpson made a public announcement of a major development in the case which hopefully may lead to the solving of the case!  Here’s our interview with Ms. Simpson:


Sound Off Louisiana’s interview with Ms. Simpson on Saturday, October 9, 2021.

As is stated on the video, we’d provide the link for the award-winning KATC feature which aired 18 months ago.  Here is that link, and here is the link for the family members’ Facebook page referenced in the video above.

If you would like to be added to our Sound Off Louisiana email list to be notified of future posts, simply go to our home page and scroll to the bottom (mobile devices) or to the top of the right-hand column (desktops).  Supply your email address within the subscribe box.  You’ll then receive an automated email from Word Press, and all you have to do is click on the blue “confirm follow” bar contained within that email, and you’ll begin receiving great posts such as the preceding one above.