Former VPPD detective officially sentenced to 18 months in prison

A former detective with the Ville Platte Police Department has been officially sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
Nathaniel Savoy, 39, was sentenced to 18 months on Monday in prison for filing a false report to cover up a civil rights violation, announced U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley of the Western District of Louisiana and Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
After obtaining documents of the plea agreement between Savoy and the U.S. Department of Justice, The Gazette reported on January 22, 2017 that Savoy was being sent to prison for 18 months. That became official this past Monday.
At the plea hearing back in November, Savoy admitted that he conspired with a civilian to burglarize a local hardware store, and used his official authority as a law enforcement officer to cover up his criminal activity.
According to the official release by the Department of Justice, Around midnight on March 8, 2015, Savoy and his accomplice drove to Doug Ashy Building Materials in Ville Platte, La., in Savoy’s police department-issued truck. An on-duty police officer who was patrolling the area noticed their suspicious behavior and drove over to investigate. Savoy falsely told the officer that he was checking on local businesses to prevent burglaries. Satisfied with Savoy’s explanation, the police officer drove away. Savoy then dropped off his accomplice and instructed him to break in and steal 20 packs of shingles for a construction project Savoy was working on in his spare time. Savoy then responded to a traffic stop across town to create an alibi, and as the senior officer on the scene, ordered the other officers to check houses and local businesses on that side of town, which was miles from the hardware store. Savoy then returned to the hardware store with his accomplice and loaded the shingles onto the bed of his pickup truck and drove off. The next day, having realized that he might have been caught on surveillance video, Savoy wrote and filed a police report in which he falsely stated that he happened to find several packs of shingles by the side of the road, and he loaded them onto his truck for safekeeping. Savoy filed the false police report with the intent to obstruct an investigation into his conspiracy to deprive the hardware store of property.
“The vast majority of American law enforcement officers conduct themselves with honor,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Wheeler said in a statement. “But when an officer violates his or her oath and breaks the law, as did Mr. Savoy, the Department of Justice stands ready to enforce the law and protect the civil rights of all Americans.”
“The people of this District deserve to have law enforcement officers working in their communities who follow the laws they are sworn to uphold,” said U.S. Attorney Finley. “Savoy’s actions are not representative of the majority of officers who risk their lives every day to protect and serve. We will continue to work with our local and federal partners to investigate and prosecute those who violate their oath to protect and serve their communities.”