Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

In a case that made national headlines, a former Monroe, La. Police officer was sentenced to six years in prison for violating the civil rights of an arrestee back in April of 2020. Former MPD Jared Desadier will spend the next 78 months behind bars for his assault on an surrendered Timothy Williams following a chase that led to his arrest. Williams had been surrounded by other officers when Desadier, for reasons that still needs an explanation, asked a fellow officer if his bodycam was on. The officer said no, but wasn't aware that his cam was in fact running. That, according to federal authorities is when Desadier assaulted Williams, kicking him in the face. The prison sentence should give the former officer and anyone else for matter, time to contemplate their actions and where it led them to. But for the citizens of Monroe and particular those in the Black community, it is a victory for them which does not come often. Desadier pleaded guilty to a single count of "deprivation of rights under color of law", a federal charge, which seems that the only place that Black people "can achieve" justice is through the federal system. The Williams' is an interesting one in that the city of Monroe is without two police officers permanently at the same time. The Ellis administration had long sought to rid the police department of one time interim police chief Reggie Brown, who was chief during the Desadier incident. Though there was talk of an alleged coverup within the department, Brown remained chief until Ellis became mayor. When Ellis through new police chief Victor Zordan fired Brown for not turning over the case to Louisiana State Police "in a timely manner". According to news sources, Brown turned the material over to LSP in June of 2020, several months after the April 2020 incident. Informed citizens that pay attention to how long complaints are even answered by police, can point to long waits of months waiting for an issue to be resolved. Brown would appeal his firing and would be reinstated back at MPD. It was only days ago that the fourth Judicial Court upheld Brown's firing by the city, overturning the civil service board's decision that Brown's punishment "did not meet" the crime. Now, both cops are gone. One for a crime that was caught on tape to which that cop pleaded guilty to. The same cop, who previously before, faced the same civil service board and got to retain his job from having an alleged illegal substance in his body. When this reporter attended that hearing, Desadier was "seen" as a good cop who made a mistake, until the Williams' incident. But what the community would like to hear from Chief Zordan, is the policy on body cams being operational when officers come in contact with the public. The very fact that Desadier wanted to know beforehand if his fellow officer's cam was on, should be disturbing to not only the public but also to Mayor Ellis and the chief. When should another officer intervene should be a concern that the chief might want to address to the public. We do not know what Reggie Brown did against the city that was upheld by the court system. We do know why the civil service board said that Brown should stay. But somewhere between the civil service board's decision and the court's decision, is perhaps the answer. We do know that justice has been achieved for Timothy Williams, as Jared Desadier will soon be behind bars. What about Reggie Brown? We don't know. But we do know from the Williams' case, that perhaps there is some cleaning that needs be done at MPD.