A Community Voice/Louisiana ACORN has had an agreement since 2004 with the Lake Charles Police Department in regards to the protocol around allegations of police brutality and racial profiling. This agreement has protected the rights of all residents of Lake Charles and prevented the highly publicized use and abuse of excessive police force. The protocol involves a procedure for investigations of police misconduct by multiple entities, as well as a procedure for filing additional complaints if the results of such investigations are left unresolved. This agreement involves the use of dash cams at all times by officers. Failure to use dash cams or any officer turning off dash cams would be in violation of this agreement.
We are heart-broken that a resident of Lake Charles has been killed by a law enforcement officer who is first and foremost in a position to serve and protect. A Community Voice has fought long and hard to prevent such incidents from occurring in Lake Charles. We believe that other means besides deadly force should always be the focus of all police training procedures. As all of you, we are anxiously awaiting the results of the investigations and will work to mitigate any remaining conflicts between law enforcement and the community to prevent such incidents in the future.
In addition, A Community Voice is actively working across the state to reduce discrimination that includes the gross racial disparities in treatment and interventions within our criminal justice system and the lack of mental health care that has increased the number of individuals incarcerated or suffering from substance abuse issues in our State.
We are awaiting the results of the official investigation from the Louisiana State Troopers before filing additional complaints regarding this incident. However, no one should ever be shot in the back by a law enforcement officer regardless of the circumstances and expect all findings to correlate with this view. Please call A Community Voice at 337-707-1517 for more information.
