St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office

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

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]

Contents

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:

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]

OfficerDate of DeathDetails
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

In 2019, former Sheriff Jack Strain was investigated by the FBI for 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. Strain was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without the opportunity of parole. He is serving his time at the state prison in Homer, Louisiana. [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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 12</span> Interstate Highway in Louisiana

Interstate 12 (I-12) is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Louisiana. It spans a total of 85.59 miles (137.74 km) in an east–west direction from I-10 in Baton Rouge to an interchange with both I-10 and I-59 in Slidell. Along the way, it passes through the city of Hammond, where it intersects I-55 and US Route 51 (US 51). It also serves the cities of Ponchatoula and Denham Springs, as well as the St. Tammany Parish cities of Covington and Mandeville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana</span> Parish in Louisiana, United States

St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana named after Tamanend, the legendary Lenape Chief of Chiefs and the "Patron Saint of America." At the 2020 census, the population was 264,570, making it the fourth-most populous parish in Louisiana. The parish seat is Covington. The parish was founded in 1810.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Covington, Louisiana</span> City in Louisiana, United States

Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,564 at the 2020 United States census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River. Covington is part of the Slidell-Mandeville-Covington statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slidell, Louisiana</span> City in Louisiana, United States

Slidell is a city on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 28,781 at the 2020 census, making it the sixteenth-most populous city in Louisiana. It is part of the New Orleans−Metairie−Kenner metropolitan statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Lee (sheriff)</span> American sheriff in Louisiana (1932–2007)

Harry Lee was an American law enforcement officer best known as the long-time sheriff of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. He was first elected in 1979 as the thirtieth sheriff, and was re-elected six times, having served twenty-eight years and six months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delgado Community College</span> Community college in Louisiana, U.S.

Delgado Community College(DCC) is a public community college in Louisiana, with campuses throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area. Its current campuses are in New Orleans (Orleans Parish) and in Jefferson Parish. The original City Park Campus is located in the Navarre neighborhood adjacent to New Orleans City Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans</span> Latin Catholic archdiocese in the United States

The Archdiocese of New Orleans is a Latin Church ecclesiastical division of the Catholic Church spanning Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, and Washington civil parishes of southeastern Louisiana. It is the second to the Archdiocese of Baltimore in age among the present dioceses in the United States, having been elevated to the rank of diocese on April 25, 1793, during Spanish colonial rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana State Police</span> Law Enforcement Agency

The Louisiana State Police is the state police agency of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It falls under the authority of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is officially known in that organization as the Office of State Police.

Vincent Joseph Marinello was an American longtime sportscaster who was featured on WWL AM/FM radio and, previously, on WVUE and WDSU in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was later known as a leading media personality, covering aspects of the recovery of the city from the devastation following Hurricane Katrina. Before his arrest for the murder of his third wife, he served as an in-house television host and analyst at the Fair Grounds Race Course from 1990 until 2005. Marinello died in custody at Dixon Correctional Institute on February 21, 2020 of natural causes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkansas State Police</span> State police agency in Arkansas, U.S.

The Arkansas State Police is a state police division of the Arkansas Department of Public Safety and they consider and tout themselves the "premier" law enforcement agency in the State of Arkansas, although they do not outrank the sheriff within the sheriff's respective county. The Arkansas State Police is responsible for enforcing motor vehicle laws, traffic laws, and criminal laws. The Arkansas State Police serves as an assisting agency to local law enforcement agencies within the State of Arkansas and has statewide authority to conduct law enforcement activities, criminal investigations, and crimes against children investigations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Orleans Police Department</span> Municipal police department in Louisiana, U.S.

The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, while the city itself is divided into eight police districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harris County Sheriff's Office</span> Agency headquartered in Houston, Texas

The Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is a local law enforcement agency serving the over four million citizens of Harris County, Texas, United States. It is headquartered on the first and second floors in the 1200 Baker Street Jail in Downtown Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheriffs in the United States</span> Chief of county law enforcement

Sheriffs In the United States are the chief of law enforcement officers of a county. Sheriffs are usually either elected by the populace or appointed by an elected body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Tammany Parish Public Schools</span> School district in Louisiana, United States

St. Tammany Parish Public Schools (STPPS) is a public school district serving the children of St. Tammany Parish, located along the Northshore banks of Lake Pontchartrain in southeast Louisiana, United States. The district's Central Office is located in downtown Covington, on the site of the original Covington High School and the former sites of the Covington Grammar School and C.J. Schoen Middle School. The district also has an annex location in Slidell, Louisiana, to serve the east side of St. Tammany Parish.

Nathaniel "Nat" Williams is an American law-enforcement officer who is the current sheriff of St. Helena Parish, Louisiana, and the first African American ever elected to hold that position in the parish's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Orleans–Metairie–Slidell combined statistical area</span> Metropolitan area in Louisiana and Mississippi

The New Orleans–Metairie–Slidell combined statistical area is made up of nine parishes in southeastern Louisiana and one county in Mississippi. The statistical area consists of the New Orleans metropolitan statistical area (MSA), Slidell–Mandeville–Covington, LA MSA, Picayune micropolitan statistical area (μSA), and the Bogalusa μSA. As of the 2020 census estimates, the CSA had a population of 1,510,672. In 2023, the Office of Management and Budget updated the Core Based Statistical Areas, removing St. Tammany Parish from the New Orleans–Metairie MSA to create the Slidell–Mandeville–Covington MSA.

Edward Joseph Price III is an American former politician in Louisiana who served as the mayor of Mandeville in St. Tammany Parish. After first being elected in April 1996, he resigned from office in October 2009 while under indictment for perjury. He later served 40 months in prison on charges of income tax evasion and corruption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Williams (politician)</span> American politician

Jason Rogers Williams is an American politician and attorney who is the Orleans Parish district attorney; he assumed office in 2021. From 2014 to 2021, Williams served as the Second Division councilmember-at-large on the New Orleans City Council. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and was elected district attorney on a progressive platform.

Susan Hutson is an American lawyer who has been the sheriff of New Orleans, Louisiana, since May 2, 2022. A Democrat, Hutson is the first woman to hold the office. Before becoming sheriff, she worked in criminal justice reform and police oversight.

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. Archived from the original on June 15, 2016. 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. "Memorandum of agreement between the department of justice, St. Tammany parish government, and the St. Tammany parish sheriff regarding the st. ταμμανy parish jail" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-15.
  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". 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.

30°28′48.90″N90°5′46.31″W / 30.4802500°N 90.0961972°W / 30.4802500; -90.0961972