LPSO: No arrest in councilmen’s ruckus

No arrest will be made stemming from the fracas in the government complex parking lot involving councilmen John Arnold and Jerry Lafont, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office said on Monday.

LaFont filed an assault complaint against Arnold after a confrontation following the council’s meeting last Tuesday. Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Brennan Matherne would not immediately answer specific questions, but did say the case would be reviewed like any other. On Monday, the sheriff’s office appeared to have reached its final decision.

“We’ve reviewed details of the case and found there to be no probable cause on which to make an arrest in this case,” Matherne said via email.

LaFont, Dist. 8, alleged that Arnold “walked up to me and pushed me.” Arnold denies shoving LaFont and maintains that he raised his arm to separate LaFont from himself during a shouting match, which Arnold admitted to provoking.

“We just had an argument,” Arnold, Dist. 5, told the Tri-Parish Times after the fracas. “I put my arm out to keep him out of my face.”

LaFont said the next day that he intended to pursue the charge if the sheriff’s office determined Arnold committed the crime.

Barbs flew at the meeting as the lawmakers discussed a handful of contentious issues that had been brewing for weeks. One of these was rescinding an ordinance Arnold sponsored last month that reallocated money from the Lakelong Drainage Project fund into one for resurfacing Bayou Blue Bypass Road.

During that debate, Arnold admonished LaFont for making a false statement, telling him to “Do your homework.” Minutes later, after Arnold said the bypass road needs to be repaved so that it is safe for school buses to transit, LaFont told Arnold that constantly using children as the crux of his arguments was hypocritical considering he owns a strip club.

Arnold recoiled and, according to LaFont and two other people who sit behind the council bench, said he would take violent measures after the meeting. Arnold later told his fellow councilmen that council meetings resemble “clown shows.”

Matherne did not definitively say whether investigators listened to a digital recording of the council meeting, or if the agency factored any of the meeting’s events into its decision.

“I can assure you that Investigators fully investigated the situation,” he said via email. “Investigators were well aware of Mr. Arnold’s comments during the meeting.”

According to the incident report released by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Wednesday afternoon, Arnold told the inquiring deputy he was “angry that Mr. LaFont put his business on television and wanted to confront him like a man in the parking lot.” Arnold told authorities he’s not sure if he made physical contact with LaFont when he raised his arm.

Because of the conflicting statements and an apparent lack of a single witness to the altercation, LPSO Capt. Roy Gros told reporters that deputies would not take action until the office reviews the case in cooperation with the District Attorney’s office.

While deputies questioned bystanders, a string of councilmen approached LaFont to ask him to drop the charge. Arnold later apologized to LaFont and shook his hand, but that didn’t change the Cut Off man’s mind. Arnold said the apology he offered was in reference to his shouting at LaFont, not an admission of guilt.

Gros said the crime under review was simple assault. Gros separated Arnold and LaFont before the dispute could develop into something worse but said he didn’t see how it started. “When I came outside, they were face to face,” he said.

Arnold owns the G Spot, located on La. Highway 1 in Thibodaux.

The vote on revoking the Bayou Blue ordinance passed 8 to 0. Councilman Michael Delatte was absent.

Councilmen