Troy Rogers v. Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Elayn Hunt Correctional Center ( 2022 )

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL
FIRST CIRCUIT
2021 CA 0914
TROY ROGERS
VERSUS
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS,
ELAYN HUNT CORRECTIONAL CENTER
Judgment Rendered: MAR 0 7 2022
On Appeal from the
Decision of the State Civil Service Commission
Number S- 18291
Honorable David Duplantier, Chairman
D. Scott Hughes, Vice -Chairman
G Lee Griffin, Ron Carrere, John McLure, C. Pete Fremin,
and Jo Ann Nixon, Members
Byron P. Decoteau, Jr., Director
Department of State Civil Service
Demi L. Vorise Attorney for Plaintiff/Appellant,
Port Allen, Louisiana Troy Rogers
Robert Rochester, Jr. Attorney for Defendant/ Appellee,
St. Gabriel, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and
Corrections, Elayn Hunt Correctional
Center
Sherri L. Gregoire Attorney for Defendant/ Appellee,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Byron P. Decoteau, Jr., Director,
Department of State Civil Service and
Louisiana State Civil Service
Commission
BEFORE: WHIPPLE, CJ., PENZATO, AND HESTER, JJ.
PENZATO, I
Troy Rogers appeals an order of the Louisiana Civil Service Commission
Commission) denying his application for review, thereby rendering the decision of
the Referee the final decision of the Commission.' The Referee' s decision upheld
the termination of Rogers' employment with the Louisiana Department of Public
Safety and Corrections ( DPSC). For the following reasons, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On January 9, 2017, Rogers was employed by DPSC as a Corrections
Lieutenant with permanent status at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center ( EHCC). On
that date, he was the designated team leader of a cell extraction team deployed to
remove two offenders from their cell. The members of the team were Rogers,
Master Sergeant Adrian Alamodovar, Captain Charles Philson, Lieutenant Andre
Riley, Lieutenant Michael Collins, and Lieutenant Eric Norwood. Allegations of
physical abuse of the offenders were brought forth to the EHCC administrative
staff, and an investigation was initiated. Two members of the extraction team
admitted to assaulting one of the offenders, John Harold, after he was restrained,
under control, and offering no resistance to them. Video of the incident showed
Rogers standing outside of Harold' s cell watching and not attempting to intercede.
Rogers was interviewed and admitted to standing outside of Harold' s cell, but
denied observing use of excessive force. Rogers was unable to explain why it took
approximately eight minutes to remove Harold from his cell after it only took one
and a half minutes to remove the other offender and offered no reasonable
explanation of what was going on inside the cell. DPSC determined that Rogers
failed to accurately describe the events of the January 9, 2017 incident in an
Unusual Occurrence Report ( UOR) prepared after the extraction, and was therefore
in violation of Rule 10 of the Corrections Services Employee Manual, " Falsifying
1 See La. Const. art. 10, § 12( A); Civil Service Rule 13. 36( g).
2
Documents or Making False Statements."' DPSC also determined that Rogers
violated Rule 13( d) of the Corrections Services Employee Manual, " Malfeasance -
Aggravated," by failing to report the abuse. 3 DPSC issued a letter dated March 23,
2017, advising Rogers that by his actions, he compromised his professional duties
and responsibilities and also compromised the security of the institution. As a
result of these major infractions, Rogers was terminated from his employment
effective April 1, 2017.
On April 19, 2017, Rogers appealed his termination to the Commission,
denying that he witnessed any assault or abuse of Harold. Due to the allegations of
offender abuse and criminal investigations by multiple law enforcement agencies,
the Referee placed Rogers' appeal on hold effective July 11, 2017. The appeal was
removed from hold status, and a public hearing was conducted on November 20,
2020. The Referee issued a decision finding by a preponderance of the evidence
that Rogers witnessed excessive force and offender abuse and failed to report it.
The Referee further found that the discipline imposed, dismissal, was warranted.
Rogers filed an application for review of the Referee' s decision, which the
Commission denied, making the Referee' s decision the final decision of the
Commission. Rogers now appeals the Commission' s decision.
2 Rule 10 provides:
Knowingly making false statements or deliberately omitting important facts on
official reports or documents or in other work-related circumstances is forbidden.
This includes, but is not limited to, certification of illness/ doctor' s excuse,
disciplinary reports, incident reports, log books, investigation reports, unusual
occurrence reports, accident reports, employee violation reports, time and
attendance records, travel expense records, accounting records and job
applications, as well as knowingly making false statements or deliberately
omitting important facts to any person conducting an investigation for the
Department or for another state, local or federal agency.
3 Rule 13( d) provides:
No employee shall fail to report, at the first opportunity, a violation of rules and
regulations. ( See Part V " The Violation Reporting Process" for specific guidance
regarding this rule.)
3
ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR
Rogers asserts the following assignments of error:
1. The Commission/Referee erred in finding legal cause to warrant
termination;
2. The Commission/ Referee' s decision was based on improper evidence,
hearsay, and unsupported by the evidence and testimony offered at the
hearing;
3. The discretionary powers of the Commission/ Referee were irrational and
arbitrarily and/ or capriciously applied toward Rogers.
LAW AND DISCUSSION
A classified employee with permanent status may be disciplined only for
cause expressed in writing. See La. Const. art. 10, § 8( A). Cause for dismissal
includes conduct prejudicial to the public service involved or detrimental to its
efficient operation.
Cole a Division ofAdministration, 2014- 0936 ( La. App. 1 Cir.
1/ 26/ 15), 170 So. 3d 180, 184, writ not considered, 2015- 0401 ( La. 5/ 1/ 15), 169
So. 3d 367. The appointing authority bears the burden of proving such conduct by
a preponderance of the evidence, meaning the evidence as a whole must show the
fact sought to be proven as more probable than not. Williams a Louisiana
Department of Health, Office of Citizens with Developmental Disabilities,
Pinecrest Supports and Services Center, 2017- 0772 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 12/ 21/ 17), 240
So. 3d 927, 930.
In civil service disciplinary cases, the factual conclusions of the Referee and
Commission are subject to the manifest error standard of review, meaning that the
factual determinations will be reversed only if the appellate court finds that a
reasonable basis does not exist for the Commission' s finding and the record
establishes the finding is clearly wrong. Martin a Department ofRevenue, 2018-
1167 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 7/ 31/ 19), 2019 WL 3451056, * 4, writ denied, 2019- 01558
El
La. 11/ 25/ 19), 283 So. 3d 496. Whether disciplinary action imposed is
commensurate with the dereliction is a determination within the discretion of the
Commission and one that cannot be overturned absent an abuse of discretion.
Brown a Department of Health & Hospitals Eastern Louisiana Mental Health
System, 2004- 2348 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 11/ 4/ 05), 917 So. 2d 522, 531, writ
denied, 2006- 0178 ( La. 4/ 24/ 06), 926 So. 2d 545. In evaluating the Commission' s
determination that the disciplinary action is based on legal cause and is
commensurate with the infraction, the court should not modify the Commission' s
order unless it is arbitrary, capricious, or characterized by abuse of discretion.
Williams, 240 So. 3d at 930. An arbitrary conclusion is one that disregards
evidence or the proper weight thereof, a capricious conclusion is one without
substantial evidence to support it or contrary to substantiated competent evidence.
Martin, 2019 WL 3451056, at * 4. Each case must be decided on its own facts.
Reviewing courts should not second guess the appointing authority' s decision, but
only intervene when decisions are arbitrary and capricious or characterized by an
abuse of discretion. Cole, 170 So. 3d at 184- 85.
In administrative hearings, the usual rules of evidence need not apply, and
thus, hearsay may be admitted. Board of Ethics Matter of Monsour, 2016- 1159
La. App. 1 Cir. 6/ 21/ 17), 233 So. 3d 625, 629, writrg anted, 2017- 1274 ( La.
12/ 5/ 17), 231 So. 3d 623, affirmed, 2017- 1274 ( La. 5/ 1/ 18), 249 So. 3d 808.
Nevertheless, the findings of the agency must be supported by competent
evidence. Factual findings cannot be based solely on incompetent evidence.
Superior Bar & Grill, Inc. a State through the Department of Public Safety and
Corrections, 94- 1879 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 5/ 5/ 95), 655 So. 2d 468, 470.
In his first two assignments of error, Rogers contends the
Commission/Referee erred in finding that the appointing authority had sufficient
legal cause to warrant termination when evidence was based upon improper
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evidence, hearsay, and unsupported by the evidence and testimony offered at the
hearing.
At the November 20, 2020 hearing, the Referee took judicial notice of guilty
plea agreements from four members of the cell extraction team entered in the
United States District Court, Middle District of Louisiana. Alamodovar' pled
guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury, in
violation of 18 U.S. C. § 242. In the factual basis of the plea, Alamodovar
stipulated that when he entered Harold' s cell, Harold was initially combative and
force was used to subdue and restrain him in handcuffs. Alamodovar further
stipulated that he kicked Harold without legal justification after Harold was
restrained with handcuffs and offering no resistance; and he was aware that under
EHCC policy and the law, he was not permitted to use force on a non -resisting,
restrained inmate, but chose to do so anyway out of anger. Alamodovar stipulated
that he observed other guards striking Harold without legal justification and failed
to intervene to stop them, despite knowing that he had both an opportunity and
duty to intervene. Norwood, Philson, and Collins each pled guilty to deprivation
of rights under color of law, in violation of 18 U.S. C. § 242. Norwood stipulated
in the factual basis of the plea that he struck Harold repeatedly without legal
justification after Harold was restrained and offering no resistance. Norwood
further stipulated that he observed other guards striking Harold without legal
justification, but failed to intervene to stop them. Philson stipulated in the factual
basis of the plea that he assisted in placing Harold in handcuffs and leg shackles,
and as he completed the application of the restraints, he observed other guards
striking Harold without legal justification, but failed to intervene to stop them.
4 In the plea agreement, his name is spelled " Almodovar." We use " Alamodovar," as that is how
it is spelled in the investigative report and the Referee' s decision.
ON
Collins stipulated in the factual basis of the plea that Harold was placed in
handcuffs and leg shackles, and as he searched Harold' s cell, he became aware that
other cell extraction team members were striking Harold without legal justification.
Collins stipulated that he failed to intervene to stop them, despite knowing that he
had both an opportunity and duty to intervene.
DPSC introduced and relied upon the report prepared in connection with the
excessive use of force investigation into the events of January 9, 2017. The report
summarized the interview of a fifth member of the cell extraction team, Riley.
According to the report, Riley entered the cell as part of the cell extraction team,
and he and the other officers subdued the offenders. After observing that both of
the offenders had stopped resisting and were under control, Riley left the area
because he thought the remaining officers could handle restraining and removing
the offenders. Riley observed the first offender brought to the lobby, and after
several minutes, wondered what was taking so long to bring out Harold. Riley
returned to the cell and saw Rogers standing at the door of the cell, and
Alamodovar, Collins, and Philson inside the cell beating and kicking Harold, who
was fully restrained and lying face down on the floor offering no resistance.
According to the report, after a period of almost four minutes witnessing the abuse,
which was not continuous but was repeated multiple times, Riley told the three
officers to stop what they were doing and remove Harold. Riley stated that Rogers
never told the officers to stop striking Harold or attempted to intercede.
At the November 20, 2020 hearing, DPSC also introduced videotaped
interviews of the members of the cell extraction team, as well as a video recording
from the tier during the cell extraction. Rogers was the only member of the cell
extraction team to testify at the November 20, 2020 hearing. Following a review
of the record, the testimony, and the evidence presented, the Referee made the
following findings of fact:
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1. Troy Rogers was employed by DPSC as a Corrections Lieutenant.
He served with permanent status.
2. On January 9, 2017, a cell extraction team was deployed to remove
two ( 2) offenders from their cell. The members of the team were
Lieutenant Troy Rogers, Master Sergeant Adrian Alamodovar, Captain
Charles Philson, Lieutenant Andre Riley, Lieutenant Michael Collins,
and Lieutenant Eric Norwood. Mr. Rogers was designated as the team
leader. Rogers and Mr. Philson entered the cell and assisted with
extracting the first offender. They escorted that offender off the tier.
3. After several minutes, Mr. Rogers returned to the cell to see why
the second offender had not been removed. He stood in the hallway
directly in front of the cell door for approximately four minutes.
During this time, there were several members of the cell extraction
team in the cell with the remaining offender. They were punching and
kicking him even though he was in restraints and offering no
resistance. Mr. Rogers did not say or do anything to stop the abuse.
Instead, after a few minutes, he retrieved the capture shield from the
cell and left the tier.
4. Mr. Rogers prepared a handwritten Unusual Occurrence Report
UOR) shortly after the extraction took place. The report fails to
mention the excessive force used on the second offender. The UOR
was admitted into evidence during the hearing. The UOR was typed -
not handwritten. The signature line is blank.
5. All of the members of the extraction team, Mr. Verret, and Sergeant
Tyler Suhm, who treated the offender in the ATU, were interviewed at
least once by DPSC investigators and law enforcement. These
interviews were videotaped. Copies of the videos were admitted into
evidence during the hearing.
6. Mr. Rogers repeatedly denied witnessing any excessive force or
abuse during the removal of the second offender from the cell.
7. During his testimony, Mr. Rogers denied seeing or hearing any
abuse.
The Referee considered the UOR, which formed the basis for the allegation
that Rogers violated Rule 10 of the Corrections Services Employee Manual by
falsifying a document or making a false statement. Rogers admitted in his
testimony at the hearing that the UOR did not contain any reference to excessive
force, and maintained that he did not witness any abuse. The Referee did not find
Rogers' testimony credible in light of the video recording from the tier, the
statements of the members of the cell extraction team, and Rogers' own videotaped
E:?
interviews. The Referee noted that Rogers stood at the door to the cell for
approximately four minutes after he returned to the tier. During this time,
according to the evidence, Harold was being punched and kicked by at least three
members of the cell extraction team. Rogers' UOR made no mention of these
facts. The Referee found that Rogers compounded his false statements during his
interviews with investigators even when confronted with the video recordings.
The Referee next considered the allegation that Rogers violated Rule 13( d)
of the Corrections Services Employee Manual by failing to report the abuse. The
Referee noted that Rogers was the only cell extraction team member to testify at
the November 20, 2020 hearing and that he denied witnessing offender abuse
during Harold' s extraction from the cell. The Referee recognized that the
statements made by the extraction team were hearsay, and while admissible, must
be corroborated by competent evidence in order to form the basis of a finding of
fact. See Superior Bar & Grill, Inc., 655 So. 2d at 470. The Referee found that the
hearsay evidence admitted at the hearing was corroborated by the video of the tier
recorded during the extraction. The Referee observed that the video showed
Rogers escorting the first offender from the tier after he was removed from the cell,
then returning a few minutes later and standing in the doorway to the cell where
other members of the cell extraction team were abusing Harold. The video showed
Rogers remaining at the doorway for approximately four minutes before picking up
a crash shield and walking out of camera range. The Referee found that the video,
in conjunction with the statements of the other members of the cell extraction
team, the videotaped interviews, and the investigative report, established by a
preponderance of the evidence that Rogers witnessed excessive force and offender
abuse and failed to report it.
The Referee found that Rogers' dismissal was warranted given the nature of
the events that took place and the severity of the actions. The Referee concluded
E
that Rogers' failure to intervene and stop the abuse, coupled with his refusal to take
responsibility for the actions of the cell extraction team as their leader, supported
his dismissal.
After reviewing the record in this matter, we find that the Referee' s
credibility determinations and consequential findings of fact are reasonable. The
Referee relied upon video footage that showed Rogers outside Harold' s cell for
four minutes. In Riley' s interview contained in the investigative report, Riley
reported that during the time Rogers was standing at the door of the cell,
Alamodovar, Collins, and Philson were inside the cell beating and kicking Harold,
who was fully restrained and lying face down on the floor offering no resistance.
We find no error in the Referee' s conclusion that Rogers witnessed excessive force
and offender abuse, which he failed to mention in his UOR and failed to report,
violations of the Corrections Services Employee Manual rules.
Moreover, we do not find that the Referee abused its discretion in
determining that termination was commensurate with Rogers' actions. The
Corrections Services Employee Manual, introduced into evidence at the November
20, 2020 hearing, provides that dismissal is an available disciplinary penalty for all
rule infractions.
A penal institution is a quasi -military installation that necessarily operates
under an exacting set of rules and regulations. Layton a Department of Public
Safety and Corrections, 2015- 1370 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 6/ 2/ 16), 2016 WL 3134532,
4, writ not considered, 2016- 1955 ( La. 12/ 16/ 16), 211 So. 3d 1165. Keeping
order and maintaining security within the institution are fundamental to its efficient
operation. Id.In Layton, 2016 WL 3134532, this court upheld the termination of a
corrections sergeant at Louisiana State Penitentiary for giving a cigarette to an
offender; calling a co -employee a " whore" in front of fellow employees; pointing
10
her finger in the co -employee' s face; accusing the co -employee of telling a
superior officer that she was " dealing" with an offender; and pushing the co -
employee on her shoulder, in violation of Louisiana State Penitentiary Rules. See
also Ravencraft a Department ofPublic Safety and Corrections, 608 So. 2d 1051La. App. 1 Cir.), writ denied, 609 So. 2d 829 ( La. 1992), which upheld the
termination of a corrections sergeant for violation of a Corrections Services
Employee Rule requiring that no employee may report for or be on duty when the
odor or effects of alcohol or other intoxicants are noticeable.
Rogers' failure to intercede to stop abuse of an offender, failure to report
abuse, and failure to report abuse truthfully violated two Corrections Services
Employee Manual rules. The violation of these rules, particularly in light of the
severity of the violation he failed to report, was detrimental to the efficient
operation of the institution. Therefore, we find no error in the Referee' s decision to
uphold the sanction of dismissal imposed by DPSC.
In his final assignment of error, Rogers contends the discretionary powers of
the Commission/ Referee were irrational and arbitrarily and/ or capriciously applied
toward him because his case is " factually identical" to that of Jarod Verret, whose
termination was reversed. According to the investigative report, Verret was the
colonel over the EHCC unit where the January 9, 2017 event occurred. According
to the report, after Harold was removed from his cell, Verret drove a van
transporting Harold for medical assessment and treatment at the Assessment Triage
Unit ( ATU). Witness statements indicated that physical abuse was being inflicted
upon Harold in the van and inside the ATU, and Verret failed to stop the use of
unnecessary and excessive force against Harold. Verret' s case involved a different
case of abuse in a different area of the prison, and was not based upon the same
evidence reviewed and relied upon by the Referee in connection with Rogers' case.
We find no merit to this assignment of error.
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CONCLUSION
For the above and foregoing reasons, the decision of the Louisiana Civil
Service Commission is affirmed. All costs of this appeal are assessed to the
appellant, Troy Rogers.
AFFIRMED.
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