By Lea Skene
The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul said Tuesday that he was firing the BRPD union vice president for violating department policies, a move that further escalates his longstanding feud with union leadership that recently landed both parties in court.
The court battle started earlier this month when the union vice president, Siya Creel, sued the department, claiming his free speech rights were violated when BRPD leaders opened an investigation after he did an interview with a former Baton Rouge television reporter. The interview — which ultimately cost him his job — was about a billboard campaign the union launched during the summer to bemoan the Baton Rouge homicide rate, an indirect jab at the police chief and mayor.
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The lawsuit is ongoing and promises to become uglier since Paul announced the termination.
Jill Craft, Creel’s attorney, slammed the chief, saying he was seeking retaliation above all else. She also noted that Creel is undergoing cancer treatment, an issue mentioned in the lawsuit. He will lose his health insurance and have to seek coverage elsewhere unless a judge intervenes.
“In my 30 years of litigating discrimination cases, this ranks among the top most appalling actions of any employer, especially because the chief knows this man is fighting to live,” she said. “No more health insurance means no more cancer treatments.”
Craft said she plans to file a request for an injunction later this week asking a judge to order that Creel remain on the department’s payroll while he appeals his termination and pursues the ongoing lawsuit.
Under state civil service laws, Baton Rouge police officers can appeal discipline decisions before the local civil service board, which hears such cases. The board has received an influx of appeals over the past several months.
Paul has declined to comment on pending litigation. He also released few details about his decision to fire Creel, saying only that the officer had violated department policies.
The internal investigation focused on several potential violations, including unauthorized public statements, according to a letter Paul sent to Creel last month notifying him of pending disciplinary action. The letter stated that Creel did not receive proper authorization before giving “an interview that would lead the general public to believe that you were representing BRPD.”
It also said he was wearing his department badge and gun during the taped interview with former WAFB reporter Kiran Chawla for her YouTube channel.
In the interview, Creel said the union was putting up billboards to make the public aware of the increasing crime rate. He also said he wanted to work with the mayor and chief to bring those numbers down.
Those were the first of several billboards, whose messages have grown more pointed over time. One told travelers to enter the city “at your own risk” because of the high homicide rate. Another called for more officers “not more deputy chiefs” — after Paul requested funding for a fourth deputy chief position — and yet another simply said “NO LEADERSHIP,” apparently targeting Paul.
The contentious relationship extends back to the beginning of Paul’s tenure, when he fired Blane Salamoni, the officer responsible for shooting Alton Sterling to death. The controversial shooting ignited widespread protests against police brutality, though BRPD union leadership remained steadfast in defending Salamoni.
Both state and federal prosecutors also declined to press charges against the officer, in part because Sterling had a gun in his pocket during the encounter.
The infighting between Paul and union leaders was often limited to private settings in the past, but the billboard campaign has brought such glaring tensions into an exceedingly public forum: the Baton Rouge interstate system.
“The chief has repeatedly expressed how thin skinned he is when it comes to criticism, and the whole situation with Mr. Creel escalated when the union put up billboards correctly criticizing the administration,” Creel’s attorney said on Tuesday. “This is a terrible day for the officers of the Baton Rouge Police Department and the citizens of Baton Rouge.”
Craft also questioned why the department announced her client’s termination in the same press release that revealed another officer had been arrested six days before. BRPD officials were not able to provide a concrete reason for including both items in the same release, saying only that the arrest was not announced immediately because it came amid an ongoing investigation.
Corporal Jeremiah Ardoin is accused of purchasing stolen property, officials said Tuesday. The department disclosed few details about the case, which has not before been reported publicly.
BRPD spokesman Sgt. L’Jean McKneely Jr. said detectives concluded that Ardoin had bought some stolen electronics. It remains unclear whether he knew the item was stolen at the time.
Ardoin was issued a misdemeanor summons for illegal possession of stolen things and criminal conspiracy. McKneely said Ardoin was not booked into jail because the alleged crimes are not felonies based on the value of the stolen property. Anything worth over $750 requires a felony charge.
Ardoin has served for 12 years and was assigned to the BRPD Criminal Investigative Bureau. Officials said he has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Such probes are conducted after criminal investigations have concluded, which will depend on how and when the case is resolved, per department policy.
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