PEARL RIVER, La. -- An Iraq War veteran who claims he was beaten by St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's deputies in January has filed a federal lawsuit claiming his civil rights were violated by their excessive use of force and unauthorized search of his home.
The lawsuit names Sheriff Randy Smith and the five deputies as defendants, but also names Smith in his official capacity, claiming he showed deliberate indifference to the case.
The story first came to light in a joint investigation with our partners at The New Orleans Advocate in March.
US Army Veteran Chris Cambre, 47, claims five St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's deputies beat and tased him during a welfare check.
Cambre had posted on Facebook that he was struggling that night and a friend called 911, worried that he might be in danger.
A report from the Pearl River Police Department says Cambre was having a calm conversation with a local paramedic when the St. Tammany Deputies approached with their guns drawn.
"They were screaming at me to stop resisting, but there was no resistance," Cambre said. "I was laying, pretty much face down, in the mud. My palms were facing skyward. I'll never forget."
According to the report, Cambre lifted his shirt and turned around to show he wasn’t armed and he never raised his voice. The narrative says one of the deputies yelled he was tired of dealing with Cambre and ordered him to get down on his knees.
“I don't understand what he did wrong to deserve to be tased or batoned, but I wasn't out there,” Pearl River Police Chief JJ Jennings said.
St. Tammany Sheriff Randy Smith painted a different picture of what happened that night, saying there was a brief struggle with a "non-compliant" individual.
A spokeswoman for Sheriff Smith said after the facts of the case were reviewed by internal affairs, including witness statements they determined the deputies followed proper protocol.
“Our deputies followed protocol including the STPSO use of force policy and their training practices when dealing with a non compliant individual,” said Public Information Officer Meredith Timberlake.
A federal probe into the incident is already underway.