BATON ROUGE, La. - A former Louisiana State Police commander faces his second contempt ruling in as many days after a commission found he ignored a subpoena last month in the case of Carl Cavalier, a Black trooper who was fired for publicly criticizing the agency and leaking documents about troopers beating Black motorists.
Former Louisiana State Police Trooper Carl Cavalier holds his uniform at his home in Houma, La. on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. Cavalier, a Black state trooper who was once decorated for valor but recently fired in part for criticizing the agency’s handling of brutality cases, says, “If you’re a part of the good ol’ boy system, there’s no wrong you can do. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
The Louisiana State Police Commission on Thursday ruled that ex-State Police commander Col. Kevin Reeves should be held in contempt after he ignored a subpoena last month calling him to testify in an appeal hearing for Cavalier.
The panel also voted Thursday morning to hold retired Maj. Jason Turner — who headed the agency’s criminal investigations and found troopers didn’t break the law in Ronald Greene’s deadly arrest, according to a detective — as well as the current State Police administration in contempt, too.
Like Reeves, Turner didn’t appear last month at an appeal hearing for Cavalier. Current State Police administrators didn’t produce thousands of pages of records requested by the trooper’s attorneys, leading Cavalier's lawyers to request the commission hold them in contempt.
It's Reeves' second contempt finding in as many days.
Read more on the state police investigation from our news partner The Advocate.Â
