Louisiana Deputies Suspended Over Special Treatment After Wreck

Three deputies with the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office and a New Roads police officer have been suspended without pay following an investigation into special treatment the officer received in an off-duty crash while suspected of driving while intoxicated.

Sheriff Bud Torres told The Advocate Tuesday that Sgt. Dylan Bergeron, Lt. Pat Bizette and Capt. Adrian Slaughter had been suspended without pay because they did not follow proper protocol when they responded to a late-night crash March 28 involving New Roads police Capt. Mark Munson.

New Roads Mayor Robert Myer says Munson had been suspended without pay indefinitely after he was cited for failure to maintain control of his vehicle and violating the state’s open-container laws as a result of the investigation.

Torres announced April 1 that his office and the Louisiana State Police had launched a probe into the crash after witnesses complained, saying Munson was not issued a traffic citation or arrested after he crashed his truck into a ditch along North Carolina Avenue in New Roads.

Munson was placed on administrative leave March 31 pending the outcome of the investigation.

The sheriff would not say how long each man would be suspended, but did say he would base it on rank.

Myer said Munson, an 18-year veteran of the New Roads Police Department, would not be allowed to return to the police force until he has met several criteria.

The stipulations include paying all fines related to the incident, paying any restitution for property damage caused in the crash, completing a driver safety course at the State Police training academy and enrolling in an alcohol counseling program – which Myer said Munson has already done.