Chapman: Indigent Defender Board aware of DOJ report

With the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Ville Platte Police Department recently being cited by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), District Defender Alex “Sonny” Chapman wants the public to know that he has taken note of the things that have been reported by the DOJ.
Chapman said, “The IDB (Indigent Defender Board) is onto this. We have been made aware of what has gone on and we will be keeping our eyes on it.”
The indigent defender recognized a need to pay close attention to arrest procedures of EPSO and VPPD after DOJ revealed that through their investigation they learned that “both VPPD and EPSO have arrested and held people in jail - without obtaining a warrant and without probable cause to believe that the detained individuals had committed a crime - in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.”
According to Chapman, it is imperative for individuals to know when they have been placed under arrest, because at that point a person’s constitutional rights kick in.
These constitutional rights consist of freedoms such as the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.
Chapman said, “Arrest is defined by Louisiana law as the taking of one person into custody by another. It also states that to constitute arrest there must be an actual restraint of the person and the restraint may be imposed by force or may result from the submission of the person arrested to the custody of the one arresting him.”
The long time attorney then explained, “Once you are detained and do not have the freedom to leave then you have been arrested.”
This is important to know because according to the DOJ there have been instances where the VPPD arrested and detained individuals that were searched and held in holding cells for “significant periods of time” although they were not suspected of being involved in committing a crime. These actions are against an individual’s constitutional freedoms provided to them by the United States Constitution.
Another crucial thing to remember, according to Chapman, is that “the law requires someone to bring you before a judge after 72 hours for a hearing.”
Since being cited by the DOJ, both VPPD Chief of Police Neal Lartigue and Evangeline Parish Sheriff Eddie Soileau have made statements that they will be working on addressing these issues by creating a policy and procedure manual that will keep these things from happening again in their departments.
Until then though, Chapman says he will be watching to make sure that none of his clients have had their constitutional rights infringed upon.
Chapman said, “We want people to know that we are keeping our eyes open so that any witness statements that come from an illegal arrest are suppressed and not allowed to be used in court proceedings as well as making sure that any arrest and detainments performed on our clients have been done properly.”