TWO OFFICERS FIRED, DA REVIEWING THE CASE

Like the butterfly’s wingbeat that spawns a hurricane wind, a dispute between mother and son last week launched a series of actions and reactions that have profoundly affected not only the individuals involved but the community at large, and few heroes have emerged.

Citizen-shot video of interaction between the son, Christopher Lee Verdin Jr. and Terrebonne Parish deputy Joseph Cehan III, has reached viral status on Facebook, with 212,000 views as of Monday morning.

The clash occurred after Verdin’s mother, Donna Lowery, called police claiming her son was high on something and

uncontrollable, that he had fired a gun near her and at the family dog, struck the dog and was heading north from her home on Grand Caillou Road with the weapon on him. Cehan, Cook and other officers encountered Verdin, arrested and disarmed him without incident and brought him back to his mother’s house. Once there Cehan and Verdin exchanged angry words and profanities. Cehan forcibly removed the youth from the back seat of his patrol car and removed the handcuffs from him, taunting him to strike him.

Verdin was booked for animal cruelty, weapons charges and on three existing traffic warrants.

Within 48 hours Cehan and another deputy, Charles J. Cook, lost their jobs.

Higher Standards

Sheriff Jerry Larpenter has taken sharp criticism from their supporters, while the badge of his department has lost some luster through the words of detractors. As of Monday 1,610 people had logged support on the website change.org for a petition to Larpenter seeking reinstatement of both deputies, some citing sympathy for the tough work officers in the field perform, and how such a step might relate to a misstep. Larpenter is not budging.

“If you can’t handle it you don’t need to be there and you don’t need to be on the streets,” Larpenter said. “You have people with opinions that don’t get the whole truth. You’ve got a bad guy that needs an ass-whipping, it needs to be from somebody else not a police officer. We are not there to beat people up, that’s not our job. … These officers violated our policies in their lack of professionalism and their attitude.”

The youth has been publicly labeled a “meth-head” and worse in an avalanche of publicly seen social media posts even though no drug charges are involved with the case that keeps him jailed. And his father – now free on bond – faces a criminal charge because of angry social media posts perceived to be threats against police.

Video of the incident and other relevant evidence are under review by District Attorney Joe Waitz Jr. so that he can determine what if any laws were broken during the encounter between Cehan and Verdin.

Cehan’s body camera – on and functioning during the initial arrest – was not activated while Verdin was being transported to his mother’s home, and was not activated until after the confrontation.

Cook’s camera was on during the arrest and while he was at the mother’s home, but was off during the confrontation between Verdin and Cehan.

Interviews with Larpenter, ranking deputies who investigated the case, review of officer body camera video as well as relatives and friends of the Verdin youth provide a 360 degree view of events which indeed show that there is more to it than meets the camera’s eye, or anyone else’s.

Hard Worker

For Chris Jr. Saturday, May 13 started out as achingly routine.

Guests of Donna Lowery, his mother, and RoseAnn Duplantis, his grandmother, Verdin spent some time in idle conversation with his girlfriend, Frankie Jo Duplantis, before heading for the David Chauvin Seafood Company dock, where he had been working for the prior two weeks.

As was their custom, the Chauvins paid him his week’s wages the night before, cashing his paycheck for him. He repaid his grandmother $10 that he owed her.

“That Friday evening we were supposed to go to town,” Frankie Jo said. “But we didn’t. He showered after work and we watched Netflix. He was in a good mood. We were going to cook fish at my mama’s but he was too tired so we blew it off.”

The next morning he went back to work, driving a pickup. As was his custom, Chris Jr. took his .45 pistol with him, placing it in the glove compartment of the truck, Frankie Jo said. The pistol had been purchased from a friend at a cheap price.

The job at the dock was going well, although the work was hard. Chris Jr.’s employers had nothing but good things to say about his performance.

“He had just started working with us for maybe two weeks,” said Kimberly Chauvin. “He was one of the hardest workers and very respectful to us, ‘yes ma’am, no ma’am, yes sir, no sir, thank you.’ He was prompt and always looking for extra hours. When we needed something, he was the first to jump up and get at it. He was the kind of worker that you look for when you need to get things done.”

There was a side of Chris Jr. that the Chauvins and a number of other people did not see, according to his younger brother Gage, and others who are close to him. When confronted with frustration he had a temper, and while not violent, he could be insistent and argumentative.

Things had gotten testy at the house on Grand Caillou Road, with disagreements over the number of animals kept on the property by Chris Jr. and Frankie Jo, as well as a big concern on the part of his mother about drug use.

“That is one thing is when he gets mad there’s no talking to him,” said Frankie Jo. “The only person he will listen to is his step-mom, Kathy. She did raise him. And it takes a lot to get Chris’ trust. Everything that he does and learns is from his dad, he is an exact copy of his dad, they do everything the same.”

Twine and a Gun

Reacting swiftly to transgressions is one attribute shared by father and son, all in the family agree. But so too are generosity and kindness.

“He has a big heart, like his dad,” Frankie Jo said.

While Chris Jr. was staying at his mother’s home – where his brother Gage lives – arguments broke out between the brothers, according to Frankie Jo.

“Miss Donna didn’t know how to handle them when that happened, she didn’t know what to do,” Frankie Jo said. “If they would fight she would freak out.”

Donna Lowery was approached for comment but has refused to speak with The Times.

Chris Jr. appeared on good terms with his brother and everyone else that Saturday.

He returned home from work in the pickup, two ice chests of shrimp given by captains whose boats he had cleaned in the back.

He and his brother added water to the ice that the shrimp were packed in. Gage went to

TWO OFFICERS FIRED, DA REVIEWING THE CASE