Louisiana state trooper Carl Cavalier was one of the main voices in his police unit speaking out about the death of Robert Greene, a Black man who died while in police custody. Cavalier was also featured in USA Today’s investigation, Behind The Blue Wall of Silence, along with other police officers around the country speaking about retaliation against whistleblowers.
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Cavalier said he’s been on paid leave since August, but the officer was terminated on Monday, according to NBC News. Cavalier’s attorney, Jill Craft, spoke about the short notice.
From KNOE:
“The message that is sent is you can kill somebody, you can commit horrific acts, what the governor himself calls criminal acts. Nothing’s going to happen to you, but the guy who says, ‘wait a minute, the emperor has no clothes’, fired,” said Cavalier’s attorney Jill Craft.
WBRZ asked Governor John Bel Edwards about the firing in a press conference he held on Tuesday.
WBRZ asked the governor how Cavalier could be fired for being a whistleblower while other troopers tied to the cover-up of the Greene case are still employed. In one particular case, Lt. John Clary lied about having body camera videos. However, his videos were discovered later and he was never disciplined because State Police said they could not substantiate the lie.
“Well first of all, I’m going to refer you to Colonel Davis who has the latest on that information,” Edwards said when asked about Cavalier’s termination. “What I will tell you is that it’s my understanding that Lt. Clary’s videos were uploaded to the system and for whatever reason it was not found by the investigator.”
Cavalier formally appealed his termination Tuesday. Lousiana State Police also released a statement about his sudden firing:
Trooper Cavalier received notice of his termination on Monday January 31, 2022 for violations of the Public Statements policy, Lawful Orders policy, Loyalty to the Department policy, Dissemination of Information policy, Seeking Publicity policy, and Conduct Unbecoming policy.
· Our department’s policies and procedures are in place to ensure accountability and professionalism by all employees
· All employees of the Department of Public Safety are required to adhere to our policies
· The investigation into the Greene incident began the same day of the incident by our LSP Investigators and remains ongoing with state and federal investigators
· Cavalier was not involved in the Greene investigation
· All of the case files had been provided to the DOJ by the DA on 09/09/19; prior to Cavalier communicating with the media
· Cavalier initiated several complaints against departmental personnel. Each complaint has been thoroughly investigated by Internal Affairs and all have been unfounded.
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