A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit regarding illegal detainments by the Ville Platte Police Department and the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The six plaintiffs in the matter were awarded a total of $47,500 to share.
The EPSO and VPPD’s practice of illegally detaining individuals, or performing investigative holds, was deemed unconstitutional in a 2016 United States Justice Department report. According to the Department of Justice’s report, law enforcement officers in Evangeline Parish illegally detained individuals for questioning more than 900 times between 2012 and 2014. The report also stated investigative holds were a routine part of criminal investigations in Evangeline Parish for more than two decades.
According a story from the Associated Press, “earlier this year, “settlement agreements resolved two federal lawsuits over the investigative holds. One of the cases was resolved before a judge could decide whether to certify it as a class action that could benefit many more people.”
The Associated Press also reported “a court decision last year effectively ruled out any compensation for most people who were subjected to investigative holds.” The AP story explained, “In November, U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hanna, recommended dismissing three people’s claims because they were freed from jail more than a year before their lawyers sued the city of Ville Platte and Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office over the arrests.”
The plaintiff’s lawyers had argued before Judge Hanna that the one-year statute of limitation in their case should not apply, due to the fact that their clients were told to keep silent. However, the judge rejected the attorney’s argument.
The DOJ first began its investigation into the VPPD and the EPSO in April 2015 and released its final report of findings in December 2016.
The DOJ report said people were often strip-searched, held in cells without beds, toilets or showers and detained for at least three days - sometimes longer - without getting a chance to talk to loved ones or contest their arrests.
Detectives told federal investigators they used these investigative holds when they didn’t have sufficient grounds for an arrest but had a “hunch” or a “feeling” that somebody may be involved in criminal activity.
Ville Platte Chief Neal Lartigue declined to comment on the recent settlement. At press time, Sheriff Eddie Soileau had not responded to our request for a comment.
City of Ville Platte Attorney Eric LaFleur was asked what money was used to cover the cost of the settlement, however, now response has been received.