You just know it’s a bad day when you’re a state trooper and you pull your boss over for doing 91 in a 60 on I-10 stretch
You just know it’s a bad day when you’re a state trooper and you pull your boss over for doing 91 in a 60 on I-10 stretch
July 8, 2022 by tomaswell
If you drive along I-10 between Baton Rouge and Lafayette on a regular basis, you’ve most likely experienced the frustration of being caught in one of those exasperating traffic snarls caused by a wreck, usually on the notorious 18-mile stretch over Henderson Lake, a stretch with no exits – or bathrooms.
Well, take heart. State authorities have finally, at long last, realized there’s a problem along that stretch and they’re cracking down on speeders who zip along while ignoring the 60-mph speed limit.
Unless your name is Lamar Davis, of course. The enforcement by Louisiana State Police, which can carry fines of up to $1,000, does not apply to Lamar Davis.
Oh, Lamar Davis, by the way, goes by the title of Colonel and he’s the superintendent of Louisiana State Police. As in head honcho, the boss, Louisiana’s Top Cop.
It seems that Col. Davis, who was appointed to straighten out a rogue outfit that had seemed to have lost its moral compass, was running a little late for a 3 p.m. meeting in Lake Charles on June 28.
He was clocked at 91 mph in that 60mph speed zone along that infamous 18-mile stretch at 2:11 p.m. (he’s not going to make that 3 o’clock).
He was pulled over by a (ahem) state trooper whose identity was not immediately available but rest assured, he was already in over his head, severely outranked as he was.
Dash cam footage didn’t pick up any audio but the meeting was quite brief, probably just long enough for Davis to ask, “Do you know who I am?” to which the trooper most likely answered, “Gulp.”
“Yes, Sir. You have a good day now, Sir.”
Davis activated his own emergency lights (those blue ones that strike dread in your heart when you see them in your rear view mirror) in an apparent attempt to discourage the trooper who probably – mistakenly – thought he might be making a major bust only to discover that he’d pulled over his commander.
A spokesman for LSP wrote to LouisianaVoice, “The Trooper utilized his discretion and did not issue a citation.”
If ever there was an understatement in invoking the word “discretion,” that would certainly qualify.
But it’s good to know troopers are free to use their “discretion” in matters such as this. If ever I get pulled over for speeding (which has not occurred since 1969 in Little Rock, Arkansas), I’ll be sure to ask the trooper if he can use his “discretion” and let me go with a warning – which I’ll bet he didn’t even do with Davis. I mean, would you “warn” your boss, especially when you couldn’t pull a 16-penny nail out of your butt with a John Deere tractor.