The Louisiana State Police fired Trooper Carl Cavalier for being critical of the Ronald Greene investigation, WBRZ reports.
In an interview with WBRZ last year, Cavalier candidly spoke about the alleged cover-up tied to Greene's death.
Although Cavalier was terminated, all other officers who were involved in the fatal incident remain employed with the department.
In a statement, the State Police addressed Cavalier’s termination.
“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,” the statement read.
“Our department's policies and procedures are in place to ensure accountability and professionalism by all employees,” the statement continued. “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 and Cavalier was not involved in the Greene investigation.”
Cavalier’s attorney Jill Craft said that the State Police believe they are above the law in their handling of Greene’s case and her client’s firing.
"The message it sends is you can kill somebody, right, commit horrific acts—what the governor calls criminal acts—nothing will happen to you," Craft said. "But, the guy who says the emperor has no clothes... you're fired."
Craft argued that State Police violated its own policies by not terminating Cavalier within 60 days of the alleged offense and also claimed that his firing was a violation of his rights.
"What it tells the public is exactly why First Amendment retaliation is against the law," Craft said. "What it does is it stifles and chills the speech of legitimate patriots who are willing to stand up and say, 'this is wrong. This is what happened. I'll call it out.' Instead, you reward people who are engaged in bad behavior."
Governor John Bel Edwards also held a news conference and claimed he had nothing to do with the cover-up.
“Well, first of all, I'm going to refer you to Colonel Davis who has the latest on that information," Edwards said regarding 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."
According to the Associated Press, Edwards was notified of Greene’s death within hours of his May 2019 arrest by text messages. The governor kept quiet about his prior knowledge of the incident as police reportedly created an entirely different story to tell the Greene's family and in the official reports. It was said that Greene died from a crash following a high-speed chase.
As EBONY previously reported, a new autopsy rejected the theory put forth by the Louisiana State police that Greene died from injuries due to a car crash.
The camera footage shows officers repeatedly stunning and punching Greene as he surrendered saying, “I’m your brother! I’m scared! I’m scared!” Later in the video, a trooper can be seen dragging Greene by his ankle shackles, leaving him face down for over nine minutes until he lost his bodily functions.
Cavalier has formally appealed his termination.
