Max Chantha | November 26, 2015
LOUISIANA – Police chiefs are often assumed to be the highest authority of local law enforcement in American cities. While the rank and file officers may abuse their positions and the civil rights of citizens, we often look to the chief to right these wrongs and hand down appropriate and just punishments to those under his or her command who would betray their oath to the people.
Chief Earl Theriot of Sorrento, Louisiana defies this assumption in the darkest of ways. The now former chief has plead guilty to not only sexually assaulting an inebriated woman in his own office, but then making false statements to federal investigators.
As part of his guilty plea, Theriot admitted that in 2013 he picked up a passed out woman at a gas station, then took her back to his office and sexually assaulted her.
When he was questioned about the blatant assault by the FBI and Sheriffs office, he lied about the events.
Ironically, these were only a couple of lies told by Theriot that would result in his conviction, as he was already under investigation by outside law enforcement offices for different reasons.
Theriot has since referred to his assault on a helpless woman as an “embarrassment,” and mourns the loss of his law enforcement career – a sentiment that seems noticeably devoid of any real remorse or apology to the victim. He was also forced to pay $2,500 in fines.
In responding to the call of the passed out woman at the gas station, Theriot had a chance to fulfill his very basic obligation to the public by protecting her and taking her home.
However, he did the unthinkable instead and mercilessly took advantage of her when she was in a vulnerable state – inside a police department.
That such blatant crimes can occur inside a police department without anyone knowing or intervening destroys the public’s perceptions of police departments as safe, law-abiding areas. Any sense of safety brought on by police presence is shattered by cases like these.
Max Chantha is a writer and investigative journalist interested in covering incidences of government injustice, at home and abroad. He is a current university student studying Global Studies and Professional Writing. Check out Max Chantha: An Independent Blog for more of his work.