The Lafayette Police Department is facing new allegations of unchecked racism among some of its white officers following a recently retired black officer’s distribution of an audio clip to members of the City-Parish Council.
That former officer is Andres Landor, who spent 21 years with the department before retiring on Feb. 18. The audio clip distributed to the council — it’s also been posted on Landor’s Facebook page and on YouTube — was recorded two or three years ago and only includes a little over 20 seconds of what appears to be a longer phone conversation between two officers. In the clip, one of the officers makes the comment: “These fuckin’ dumb fuckin’ [N------] around here.” According to a YouTube video posted under the alias UGOTS2B JOKING, that comment, allegedly, was made by officer William White, a corporal at the time. According to the YouTube video, White’s alleged comment was directed at several black officers from the department, including Major Jackie Alfred — a 30-year veteran of the department.
According to a post on his Facebook page, Landor says the audio from the alleged incident involving White was turned over to the department’s Internal Affairs Division over a year ago, but to no avail. Yet, Landor’s distribution of the audio clip during his recent appearance before the council did prove successful in catching the attention of Council Chairman Kenneth Boudreaux.
In a press release Thursday, Boudreaux addressed the allegations of racism against the officer (the officer isn't named in the councilman's statement):
Due to the critical services this individual provides and the overall well-being of our entire community, I deemed it necessary to consult with the Chief Administrative Officer [Dee Stanley] and the Chief of Police of Lafayette Consolidated Government. After doing so, I have confirmed that an investigation into this allegation has been authorized.
As an elected representative of this government, I realize that the behavior and content of the allegation that has been made has no place in this government or our community. There is a process in place to deal with such situations. This must play out and see what it produces before any other course of action is taken. As always, I appreciate the service of the men and women of the Police Department who go out on the front lines each and every day and do their job well.
There are many hard-working, passionate individuals who care about the community in which they serve. They are of all ethnicities and gender. I do not want the actions of one, or a few to taint the great work of the Police Department as a whole.
Along with the allegation of racism against officer White, additional Lafayette police officers are also named in the recently posted video, including an allegation against Cpl. Martin Faul, the white officer responsible for shooting and killing Quamaine Mason on the night of Dec. 9, 2011. According to the video, Faul, while working an off-duty security detail with several other officers, jokingly made reference to the Mason shooting, allegedly saying “I shot that [N-----] in the mouth.” Of the eight shots fired by Faul on the night of the incident, Mason was hit seven times, with one shot to the head.
The video also references a 1995 complaint filed after a training scenario resulted in a female trainee allegedly being referred to as a “[N-----] bitch.” The video alleges: “As documented in a staff meeting, it is alleged that [Chief Jim] Craft, who was a captain at the time, stated the use of that term was a minor complaint and was justified as a useful training mechanism.”
We reached out to the chief for this story, but he declined to comment. "We do not comment on public complaints as it may discourage citizens from reporting allegations of misconduct," Craft said.