Carl Cavalier, a state trooper with the Louisiana State Police Department reportedly has been fired in the wake of his leaks of internal records regarding the 2019 death of Ronald Greene, a Black motorist who was beaten, tased, bound face-down on the ground, and later died while in police custody.
In the aftermath of the incident, Greene’s family was told that their loved one had died of injuries sustained in a car crash at the end of a chase, although the 49-year-old’s vehicle showed little to support that claim.
Cavalier, seemingly angered by the way Greene’s case was handled — not much was reported about it for nearly two years — gave a tell-all interview with local news station WBRZ detailing what he believed to be a cover-up about Greene’s death in order to help the officers involved avoid charges.
“I love what I do,’ Cavalier said at the time in the tell-all. Adding, “but we still have murderers, in my eyes, on the job. Guys who received a slap on the wrist for their roles in the Ronald Greene incident are unpunished… patrolling the streets and left on the job.”
The 33-year-old was ultimately suspended and placed on a five-week paid leave for leaking internal state police files related to the investigation during his appearance in multiple interviews.
Following the announcement of the termination, a spokesperson for the LSPD told Fox News that Cavalier was let go for violating department policy.
“Trooper Cavalier received the decision of the appointing authority to move forward with termination based on an administrative investigation that revealed he violated several departmental policies,” the rep explained.
“It should be noted that our disciplinary administrative process is not finalized and Cavalier remains an employee at this time.”
“The disciplinary letter with policy violations will be made available when complete,” the spokesperson added. “Cavalier is due a fair and impartial process, and as such, the department cannot provide comment on any pending litigation.”
The trooper’s termination is reportedly said to go in effect 45 days.
The firing comes on the heels of a September lawsuit Cavalier, who had been with the organization since 2014, filed against the department accusing his superiors of harassment and discrimination.
In his suit, Cavalier claims his problems began soon after he issued a ticket to a Houma police officer in 2018, WBRZ reported. The trooper told the outlet he faced immense pressure from his bosses and that he was met with sharp criticism in comparison to his peers.
Documents obtained by the outlet also alleged that state police personnel began harassing Cavalier’s relatives over minor traffic violations. The former officer said that his complaints were ignored.
In addition, when he sought help from the Trooper Employee Assistance Program in October 2020 about the racism he had endured, the suit claims Cavalier was told that TEAP members weren’t trained to handle those types of complaints.
Cavalier stated that he was demoted and transferred several times in retaliation for speaking out. His termination is reportedly said to go in effect in 45 days.
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