Nicholls falls in court dedication
January 31, 2018
Lafourche council members question funding gridlock
January 31, 2018
As the Krewe of Hercules ramps up toward its lead-off Houma Carnival parade, state appeals court judges are studying a lawsuit that alleges misdeeds at a club function four years ago that left a Terrebonne Parish deputy severely injured.
State District Judge Johnny Walker has denied a request by the krewe’s lawyers to dismiss the lawsuit, brought on behalf of former deputy Albert Lewis, who was among officers hired to provide security at the party, in uniform. Lawyers for the krewe want the Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal to formally review the matter, with hopes that the higher court will overrule Walker and shut the suit down. If the appeals court doesn’t choose to hear the case then it will move forward to trial.
Lewis, court papers allege, suffered a concussion and other serious injuries on Feb. 15, 2014 when krewe members turned against him as he sought to break up a fight, and ended up assaulting him and other officers.
“Officer Lewis alleges that the krewe’s complete and total lack of effort in attempting to monitor and or control the distribution and consumption of alcohol at its pool party, coupled with its historical and actual attitude of encouraging wild and anything-goes krewe gatherings, makes the carnival club independently negligent,” a brief filed by attorney William Watkins on behalf of the deputy states. “The member in charge, Danny Picou, specifically discouraged the security detail from doing its job, and fostered the crowd’s belligerent attitude of a wild west brawl.
New details that emerge from a review of the court papers reveal problems beyond injuries to the deputy. Only one named individual, former krewe member Dylan Yates — who is named in the suit — was charged with a crime in connection with assaults on Sgt. Lewis. But sworn pre-trial statements taken by attorneys indicate that two other men were arrested but somehow released from their handcuffs and “un-arrested’ before their identities could be confirmed.
The significance of financial harm to Hercules if a jury finds in favor of the plaintiff is a concern for krewe members and others in Terrebonne. Hercules is a pivotal component of Terrebonne’s unique Carnival celebration, which is a major tourism draw for those seeking a more family-friendly Mardi Gras experience. Although Hercules is insured — and attorneys for its insurers are pressing the defense — the potential for higher premiums is very real.
In addition to its Carnival activities Hercules, founded in 1985, holds an annual Thanksgiving dinner to benefit the Louisiana Council on Aging. The krewe’s president, Mark Pitre, is a respected law enforcement officer who works as an investigator at the office of District Attorney Joe Waitz Jr. Danny Picou, who was in charge of the 2014 party, is well-known throughout Terrebonne Parish a fundraiser and advocate for veterans.
Neither claimed knowledge of who set arrested individuals free the night of Feb. 15, when questioned under oath by attorneys during the early stages of the civil case.
Attorneys for the krewe maintain that the actions of an individual were the result of Lewis’ injuries, and that the club was not responsible. Additionally, krewe attorneys have noted in their briefs that the club supplied no alcohol for the event, that what alcohol was brought or consumed was the responsibility of the individual members.
Judge Walker reached his decision to move forward after considering an argument by the club’s attorneys that it is not responsible for the acts of individual members, and is protected because it is a “social host” and not an employer. An exception in state law was cited that protects from liability a business or person who is a social host when the intoxication of an individual is cite as the cause of injury to another person.
Attorneys for the officer, however, contend that they are not alleging intoxication of anyone as a cause of their client’s injuries, merely that alcohol consumption was widespread and uncontrolled, like all other behavior at the party. The party guest, the court papers further show, was underage. The exception in the law to liability for third parties, Walker noted in his decision, is only valid in the case of a person who does something wrong and is 21-years-old or older.
The former krewe member, Dylan Yates, was 20 when he was arrested and jailed in connection with the incident.
A police report filed by Lt. Dale White — now an exhibit in the civil case — provides a synopsis.
White was working the off-duty detail at the Ramada, with a crew that included Lewis, Lt. Herb Fitch, Sgt. Michael Suggs and deputies Tige Weley, Daniel Trahan, Henry Turner and Angie Wunzell.
At about midnight, White’s report states. “deputies were called to multiple disturbances at three different locations on the property.”
Between 25 and 30 people, White wrote, were fighting. Sgt. Lewis and Deputy Trahan were atop two people. Lewis had a Taser in his hand.
“I, along with other deputies, were outnumbered by the crowd and were attempting to control the out-of-control mob of people … punching and kicking each other,” White wrote. “I began physically removing people from the pile in an attempt to keep Sgt. Lewis and Deputy Trahan safe.”
The two were struggling with a blond-haired man who was finally handcuffed and brought to a police car.
Lewis, intending to return to the scene of the brawl, then radioed from another location that he was in trouble.
White was among the deputies backing Lewis up and a man later identified as Yates was taken into custody.
“Sgt. Lewis was unable to complete the arrest due to his injuries,” Whit wrote.
The first man who was arrested. White wrote, was “mistakenly” freed from the patrol car he had been placed in.
Deputies were never able to identify him, nor another man said to have been taken into custody and then released.
Lewis no longer works for the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office, but moved to Caddo Parish where he still does law enforcement work. He was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and his jaw was shifted, according to information in the legal files. He says that he still suffers pain, particularly around his jaw when eating, despite tens of thousands of dollars spent on dental work.
“It’s affected my life,” Lewis said.
Particularly troubling for him is the failure of people at the party to come to the aid of himself and other officers, as well as the release of two people he arrested, whose identities are still not known.
“What concerned me the most was the safety of myself and fellow officers, and safety for the public,” he said.
Krewe officials say they are confident that if the attorneys for their insurance company are pressing Walker’s judgment — and therefore the question of whether the case continues — to an appeals court, then they must have good reason to do so.
The attorneys, as court papers indicate, maintain that with Yates being merely a member of the krewe, who was present at the function, liability cannot attach to the organization.
But there is a hitch. Papers filed in Walker’s court by the krewe state that Dylan Yates was intoxicated, and that the krewe therefore cannot be responsible, since the krewe did not serve alcohol.
Attorneys for Lewis note, in their filings, that Picou and other krewe officials
Papers filed by attorneys for Lewis rely on several theories they say indicate liability. They include requests by Danny Picou at the start of the event that officers not “harass” guests, and that Lewis not work with his canine partner, who was kept inside of his cage at the back of the officer’s patrol vehicle.
“Danny (Picou) was most interested in the security detail not getting in the way of the members and guests’ fun,” court papers state. “Mark Pitre was most interested in burying the facts and circumstances of the subject event, never allowing it to see the light of day.”
In conclusion, the attorneys for Lewis stated that “the krewe itself can be shown to be independently negligent for its failure to foster any type of reasonable behavior, and methods to control unreasonable behavior at the subject pool party.”
“The two members of authority that were present, Danny Picou, chairman of the pool party, and Mark Pitre, president of the club, both demonstrated a complete lack of reasonable behavior before, during and after the subject pool party.”
Whether the First Circuit chooses to take a close look at the decision made by Walker is entirely at the panel’s discretion. There is no required timeline within which the appeals court must respond.
