A Black Louisiana State Trooper Says His Potential Firing Is Retaliation for Speaking Out About Ronald Greene’s Death

A Louisiana state trooper who has publicly criticized his department for the violent arrest and death of Ronald Greene is at risk of losing his job. He says that his potential termination is an act of retaliation by the state police.

Per NBC News:

Carl Cavalier, 33, who has been with Louisiana State Police since 2014, was quoted by a local TV outlet this summer as saying the department was involved in a coverup of the death of Ronald Greene. Cavalier, who is Black, also called troopers who arrested Greene “murderers” during another interview with a news outlet.

Cavalier said he’s being retaliated against for those comments and for writing a fictional book under a pseudonym about the experience of being a Black police officer.

“I swore and took an oath to do exactly what I’m doing,” said Cavalier, who considers himself a whistleblower. “I’m going to pursue my job with everything in me. If the justice system works like it’s supposed to, if the appeals process works how it’s supposed to, I believe I’ll have my job back.”

Cavalier told NBC that he’s been on paid leave since August and received a letter earlier this month from state police Superintendent Lamar Davis that notified him of potential termination within 45 days. The letter cited his public statements, dissemination of information and conduct unbecoming of an officer as reasons for his possible firing.

More from NBC News:

A state police spokeswoman said Friday in a statement: “Trooper Cavalier received the decision of the appointing authority to move forward with termination based on an administrative investigation that revealed he violated several departmental policies. It should be noted that our disciplinary administrative process is not finalized and Cavalier remains an employee at this time.”

Louisiana’s state police department has been under intense scrutiny as of recent not only for the death of Greene–a Black man who was violently beaten and dragged by troopers in 2019 during a traffic stop–but also for patterns of racial profiling and disproportionate use of force against Black people. An investigation done by the Associated Press found that evidence of many of those incidents was either ignored or concealed by state police officials in an attempt to hinder efforts that would weed out misconduct within the department.

The Washington Post reports that Cavalier said he’s received pushback from both random people and his fellow troopers due to his public comments:

Strangers accused him of trying to start a “race war.” A colleague he once considered a mentor wrote him a heated text, he said, blasting him for breaking a “blue wall of silence.” But he said others in the department, including White officers, have stood by him.

Per the Post, Cavalier has also filed a lawsuit against Louisiana State Police that alleges discrimination by his superiors. The department has not publicly commented on that lawsuit.

“I would love to keep my job. I’d love to continue to help people. That’s what I started out to do,” Cavalier told the Post. “Law enforcement and regular everyday citizens are having problems with each other these days. I’d like to be that glimmer of hope.”