St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office (STPSO) is the chief law enforcement agency of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. It falls under the authority of the Sheriff, an elected official who is the chief law enforcement officer of the parish.[1]

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office
AbbreviationSTPSO
Agency overview
Formed1812
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionSt. Tammany, Louisiana, US
Map of St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office's jurisdiction
Size1,124 square miles (2,910 km2)
Population233,740
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersSlidell, Louisiana
Agency executive
Website
http://www.stpso.com/

The Sheriff

The sheriff of St. Tammany Parish is Randy Smith, Sheriff Smith was sworn in as Sheriff of St. Tammany Parish on July 1, 2016. He has over 28 years of experience in the field of law enforcement. He previously served as chief of police for Slidell, Louisiana.

Employees of the office are amongst the highest-paid in the region.[2]

Facilities

The Sheriff's Office operates the following facilities:

  • Headquarters - The headquarters is located within the St. Tammany Parish Justice Center, at 701 North Columbia Street, in Covington.
  • St. Tammany Parish Jail - The St. Tammany Parish Jail is located at 1200 Champagne Street in Covington. Opened in 1985, the jail currently houses 872 inmates, and employs 207 people at full operation.[3] The jail is operating under a Memorandum of Agreement with the US Dept of Justice.[4][5]
  • Administration Building - Many of the agency's administrative divisions operate out of the complex at 300 Brownswitch Road, Slidell.
  • Training Center - The agency's training and education center is located on Pine Street in Pearl River.

Fallen officers

Since the formation of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, four deputies have been killed in the line of duty. The most common cause of line of duty deaths to date is gunfire.[6]

Officer Date of Death Details
Sergeant Louis Henry Wagner, II
Saturday, June 3, 1978
 Gunfire
Sergeant John William Bonnell, III
Tuesday, July 10, 1979
 Gunfire
Deputy First Class Hilery A. Mayo, Jr.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
 Automobile accident
Sergeant Linden "Beau" Raimer
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
 Weather/Natural disaster

Corruption and Sexual Abuse Allegations

Former Sheriff Jack Strain has been accused and is currently being investigated(2019) by the FBI for alleged bribery[7] and sexual abuse of minors both before[8] and while in office.[9] Strain was arrested on June 11, 2019 for the allegations.[10] He was found guilty on all charges of sexual crime on November 8, 2021 and awaits sentencing scheduled for January 18, 2022. Strain was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without the opportunity of parole. He is currently serving his time at the state prison in Homer, LA.[11] [12]

In 2018, local law enforcement arrested, strip-searched and jailed a local man, Jerry Rogers Jr. Rogers had criticized the fruitless police investigation of a murder in an email. The Sheriff's Office charged Rogers under a state defamation law that the district attorney's office pointed out was long before ruled unconstitutional. The matter is the subject of a lawsuit.[13]

See also

References
  1. Louisiana Constitution, Article 5
  2. Chatelin, Kim (14 June 2016). "How much do your police make? See list of 12 agencies". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  3. "St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office - Corrections". St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
  4. "| NewOrleans | the Advocate — Baton Rouge, Louisiana". Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  5. https://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/tammany_mou_8-15-13.pdf
  6. Officer Down Memorial Page
  7. Team, WDSU Digital (2018-11-29). "Former St. Tammany Parish sheriff Jack Strain linked to alleged kickback, bribery scheme, DOJ says". WDSU. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  8. "'Sick stuff' - Accuser says ex-sheriff Jack Strain molested him as a child". WWL. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  9. "Shock, sadness over allegations against ex-sheriff Jack Strain". WWL. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
  10. "Ex-St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain arrested on rape, incest charges". 11 June 2019.
  11. "Former St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain guilty on all sex crime charges". 8 November 2021.
  12. "Jack Strain formally sentenced to life behind bars for sex crimes | Courts | nola.com". www.nola.com. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  13. Binion, Billy (11 August 2023). "A Louisiana Man Was Jailed for Criticizing Police. A Federal Court Wasn't Having It". Retrieved 15 August 2023.

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