Randy Smith’s resignation was part of plea deal after attack on podcaster Bobby Couvillion at a Madisonville restaurant
A suburban New Orleans sheriff who had held one of his community’s most prominent political offices for a decade has retired shortly after pleading guilty to battering a podcaster who often criticized him.
Randy Smith, 61, also agreed to serve more than a year of probation after admitting to a late May beating at a steakhouse where he had bought 18 alcoholic beverages on his tab on a Friday afternoon – which all but halted his four-decade policing career.
Smith had been sworn in as the elected sheriff of St Tammany parish, Louisiana, on 1 July 2016, succeeding a predecessor who eventually pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges and was separately convicted of serial child sexual molestation.
51 Comments
ProfThadBach@lemmy.world · 141 pts · 51d
Oh nice. He gets to retire with no real consequences.
aramis87@fedia.io · 71 pts · 51d
Probably even still gets to keep his pension.
Damn990099@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 51d
And get a new job in the neighboring county.
TheDeadInternet@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 51d
Probably sue the guy for damaging his hands.
( Im not kidding this has actually happened before)
arrow74@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 51d
A pension is something you pay into it through your career with deductions from your paycheck. Idk why people treat it like free money or something that is earned through merit. It's the money of the employee taken and invested
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 51d
Not all pensions work like that. Government pensions especially. Some work like you accumulate time in service and once you hit the threshold (typically 20-30 years) then they'll pay you for the rest of your life. Often comes with healthcare too. Not sure how it works for NOLA police though.
What you're describing sounds more like a retirement account.
arrow74@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 51d
I worked in the park service for a bit. Money was drawn from my paycheck automatically to fund the pension. You got the rest right though.
As for Healthcare, you do get to keep that, but we still had to pay for it. Pretty good price though.
The 401k was entirely separate
bold_atlas@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 51d
Yeah it's his pension. But we, the tax payer should take it away from him as punishment/compensation for his victims. I don't know what we're missing here.
For police, a pension should just be a security deposit that you get back at retirement/career change if you've been good and not behaved like an animal.
arrow74@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 51d
Nah fuck that, put his ass in prison sure, but until we fix our broken ass country I'm not sentencing anyone to poverty in their old age. There are some people I really do hate, but I hate the existence of poverty more
Now I'm down for making them carry insurance that pays their wrong doing. That in turn will eventually push them out of policing
Chivera@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 50d
Then they should give his pension to the victim
Phantaloons@piefed.zip · 2 pts · 51d
As long as we allow it.
taco@anarchist.nexus · 105 pts · 51d
Implying the guy's cowardly for talking "behind a computer screen" (as though that's not how most communication works in 2026) but also literally attacking the dude from behind. Whats a sensitive, hypocritical little bitch.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 7 pts · 51d
Also, as someone in a position of public office, he's exposed to criticism and people have every right to direct criticism at him from behind their computer screens. That's kind of what the whole first amendment is about...
Also, that doesn't read like an apology. It reads like he's saying "That fucker deserved it and I'd do it again"
taco@anarchist.nexus · 1 pts · 50d
Absolutely was a check--the-box apology required either by the court or his attorney. He'd never write one of his own volition, as he clearly doesn't understand their purpose and probably has never apologized without being forced in his life.
Zombiepirate@lemmy.world · 94 pts · 51d
But he did get special treatment.
frunch@lemmy.world · 39 pts · 51d
Oh, that?! That's just the gaslighting, lol. Hey look over here, a shiny penny!!
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz · 6 pts · 51d
If that's how every citizen who commits an act like that gets treated, then how about someone choke-slams him from behind? All they'll get is a slap on the wrist, right?
Overkrill@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 78 pts · 51d
he announced intention to kill the man, and he's not on trial for attempted murder. cool.
Zombiepirate@lemmy.world · 47 pts · 51d
There's simply no way to know his intentions.
JoMiran@lemmy.ml · 75 pts · 51d
Louisiana, ladies and gents.
tempest@lemmy.ca · 15 pts · 51d
Red voters love them some child rapists.
Absent that they can settle for some good ole corruption fueled alcoholics.
jwt@programming.dev · 6 pts · 51d
So, still a step up from his predecessor, you say?
PolarKraken@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 51d
Pretty fuckin far from "just" Louisiana.
And at least they have gas station crawfish pistolettes 😎 (make no mistake, Louisiana is largely a hole, formed from hatred and poverty)
capital_sniff@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 51d
I'm shocked these guys aren't working for the current Trump administration, and I'm not looking it up because it wouldn't shock me if they were.
fpslem@lemmy.world · 35 pts · 51d
Louisiana taking ACAB to the next level
ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 30 pts · 51d
He put a guy in the hospital and he's still on the streets? Guess they don't have enough room for pedos and folks who violently assault people when they have to detain all those concerning immigrant children.
SayJess@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 28 pts · 51d
I wonder, if I attacked someone, unprovoked, while saying “You’re a dead motherfucker”, would I too get probation? Doubt.
I hope the podcaster just completely leans in on it now. He can just keep rehashing it all, knowing that Sherrif Snowflake is hate-listening to it.
He’s just asking questions, right? Isn’t that the thing that the fascists always say? What?? I’m just asking questions! Can a bird be a fly? Yes or no! Just asking questions!
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 18 pts · 51d
Knowing cops, he'll continue to have his buddies on the force harass him. If he doesn't continue to do it himself.
some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org · 27 pts · 51d
What a fucking pussy. Sheriffs are the most corrupt arm of law enforcement. Every sheriff can suck my dick.
tempest@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 51d
What exactly is a sheriff? We don't have them here. Are they like State police?
justaman123@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 51d
They are like county level executive branch. Which is the level below state. In the case of Louisiana it's parish instead of county. They basically have really high levels of authority in their jurisdiction. And it's usually an elected position.
ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 51d
Sheriff's typically handle the courts and transport of prisoners, whereas police handle law enforcement. In cities too small to have their own police force, the county sheriffs will fill the law enforcement role also.
Cort@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 51d
Kinda, but they're at the county/parish level
decapitae@sh.itjust.works · 24 pts · 51d
He should have volunteered to go to jail for assault and drunk and disorderly conduct - the law should apply to the "enforcer" - things might be a little less "jimmie and crowie" in the US if that happened
fishy@lemmy.today · 32 pts · 51d
Judges and cops caught breaking the law should have the punishment doubled. The people we trust to enforce the law should be held to a higher standard.
SPRUNTnsfw@fedinsfw.app · 13 pts · 51d
This 1,000%.
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net · 12 pts · 51d
Does that mean that if someone beats up the ex-sheriff now they will also get to retire as a "punishment"?
Reyali@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 51d
Wow, sounds like the people who hold that office have historically been class acts! Jeeeez. (Also on first reading, I didn’t catch the last line was about his predecessor and was trying to figure out why that lede was so buried.)
blattrules@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 51d
Does he still get his full pension? If so, definitely not a punishment to be forced to retire for being a fucking coward and assaulting someone when their back is turned.
some_designer_dude@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 51d
Sounds more like a reward than a punishment.
jtrek@startrek.website · 9 pts · 51d
He shouldn't be able to retire to a peaceful life. He should be ruined.
Things like this feed the idea that the justice system won't produce justice, so if you want it you better get it yourself.
Triumph@fedia.io · 4 pts · 51d
You say that as though the "idea" isn't true.
Jax@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 51d
Many people still do not believe it, though. Especially white people.
Triumph@fedia.io · 2 pts · 51d
You're not wrong, but that's definitely changing.
Ioughttamow@fedia.io · 7 pts · 51d
Targeted political violence? A-ok
bitteroldcoot@piefed.social · 5 pts · 51d
Well that's just Louisiana.
Moved to the south in 1986. After a while you figure out the lay of the land.
Kentucky wasn't that bad, very horse oriented.
Alabama, don't leave the city or you will hear banjos.
Louisiana and Mississippi you really need to watch what you say if you want to stay alive. If this happened in Mississippi that guy would be dead, and the body buried in the swamp.
Tennessee very tourist oriented, but stick to Nashville, Gatlinburg and the Parks.
Florida, if anything, the Florida man reputation is under exaggeration. These people are really into self harm.
ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 51d
Tennessee has a bigger Nazi problem.
Louisiana is ran like a third world country. Private schools are used for regular kids rather than bad kids because the school systems are horrific. Government is corrupt and everything is a scam.
Alabama still has slavery and should be avoided except for Huntsville and Birmingham. Probably just don't go at all.
Unless you're paying to live in Southern California, all warm states in the US are inhabited by illiterate fascists. Maybe New Mexico gets a pass.
Washedupcynic@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 51d
No worries, he will move a county over and continue his policing career.
Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 51d
Its really strange he retired.
TotalCourage007@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 51d
stay safe fellow sane folk. we don't wear red cult outfits.
TIEPilot@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 51d
email signup required aka lame paywall.