City, chief, officers sued

A Crowley woman has filed a lawsuit against the city, the police chief and two officers based on an admission in October by the city council that steps mandated by state law for the hiring and promotion of police officers had not been taken.

The 11-page complaint was filed by Lafayette attorney L. Clayton Burgess on behalf of Theresa Richard, who was arrested twice within the span of one year for video recording police officers on the job. Richard seeks a jury trial and monetary damages from the four defendants for “mental anguish” related to her claims of “false arrest, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.”

Richard was arrested by Lt. Scott Fogleman on Dec. 1, 2013, and charged with remaining after being forbidden when she refused to comply with Fogleman’s demands that she stop recording the lobby of the Police Department’s lobby.

She was arrested again on May 28 by Officer Skeat Thibodeaux and charged with interfering with a law enforcement investigation and public intimidation. In that incident, Richard was reportedly standing next to her vehicle recording a neighbor’s interaction with Thibodeaux and refused to get into her car when told to do so by Thibodeaux.

In both incidents her recording device was confiscated. All of the charges against Richard were later dismissed.

According to allegations contained in the complaint, Fogleman and Thibodeaux were never formally approved for hire by the Crowley City Council, were never formally commissioned as law enforcement officers and, thus, did not have the power to detain and arrest Richard.

The lawsuit points out that the city of Crowley is a Lawrason Act municipality and, as such, the authority to hire police personnel is “vested in the mayor and board of aldermen.”  The police chief is only authorized to “make recommendations to the mayor and board of aldermen” as to the appointment, promotion, discipline or dismissal of personnel.

A listing of personnel actions distributed to city council members at their Oct. 8 meeting reflects that 27 employees of the Crowley Police Department were working without the council’s approval and 123 employees had been promoted without council approval.

The council, at an Oct. 14 special meeting, retroactively approved the 150 police personnel actions. However, a 2012 opinion from the state Attorney General’s office stated that “a provisional appointment of an employee to a position cannot be made without the appointee first being properly certified by the civil service board. Certification of eligibility is the acknowledgment by the civil service board prior to the provisional appointment that the candidate has satisfied its qualification requirements for admission to the test, and achieved a passing score.”

The opinion goes on to say, “Certification cannot be made retroactively; rather, it is contrary to civil service law to provisionally appoint a person and to then confirm that employee to a permanent position, and to determine, after-the-fact, his or her eligibility ...”

Based on those facts, Richard’s complaint alleges, “Scott Fogleman and Skeat Thibodeaux were, al all times relevant, never formally commissioned law enforcement officers in the City of Crowley, nor were they ever voted on by the Crowley City Council to act in such capacity. They never had arrest powers or the power to detain individuals under Color of Law on the dates of (Richard’s) false arrests as the City of Crowley never certified them as law enforcement officers.”

Richard goes on to contend that, since Fogleman and Thibodeaux “were allegedly acting within the scope of their employment with the Crowley Police Department ... therefore, Kelly P. Gibson, as the duly-appointed police chief ... is vicariously liable pursuant to Louisiana state law for the false arrest, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment committed by the alleged employees.”

Similarly, since Gibson was acting “in the course and scope of his employment with defendant City of Crowley,” the city also is liable for the acts, according to Richard’s complaint.

Richard is seeking a jury trial and monetary damages from the four defendants for mental anguish related to her “false arrest, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment,” according to the suit.

Gibson referred questions to Tom Regan, city attorney, who explained that, as a rule, he had no comment on pending litigation.

Mayor Greg Jones said, “There may have been a procedural error. Any action taken since will be in council minutes.”