Kennedy calls for Edmonson’s resignation

On the heels of reports by The New Orleans Advocate and WWL News that placed a cloud of suspicion over a West Coast road trip by four Louisiana state troopers that made unauthorized stops at the Grank Canyone and Las Vegas, Nevada. U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is calling for the resignation of Louisiana State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson.

The trip to the West Coast for a San Diego, Calif. law enforcement conference took place last fall, according to The New Orleans Advocate and WWL.

In addition to taking detours to the Grand Canyon and a Las Vegas resort, the four state troopers are accused of abusing the law enforcement agency’s overtime pay system and using taxpayer dollars to pay for lodgings at the additional stops they made as they drove from Baton Rouge to San Diego this past October to the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police conference.

Edmonson said the LSP would launch an internal investigation of the incident and require the state troopers to repay the taxpayer dollars used for the extra stops and overtime pay. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a call for an independent probe of the West Coast trip.

LSP Maj. Darrell Williams, who heads the agency’s Internal Affairs Division, was among the four troopers, who drove a state SUV nearly 4,000 miles during the trip.

Kennedy, the longtime state treasurer until he was elected to Congress last year, accused Col. Edmonson of squandering taxpayer dollars at a time when the state has faced repeated fiscal challenges, including a more than $300 million budget shortfall that recently prompted a special legislative session.

“I like the superintendent,” Kennedy told FOX 8 News in a recent interview. “But he has demonstrated that he is intent on being the tallest hog at the trough. And this is all taxpayer money.”

In addition to the money spent on the road trip, Kennedy criticized Edmonson for sending 17 members of his agency to a conference at which Edmonson was presented a lifetime achievement award. Kennedy, a Republican, called the incident “disgusting” and suggested Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, ask for Edmonson’s resignation.

The New Orleans Advocate reported that in a later telephone interview, Col. Edmonson said he does not plan to resign from his post and expressed disappointment that Sen. Kennedy did not reach out to him before demanding his resignation.

“I am appalled by our senator’s comments,” Edmonson said. “A true leader seeks the facts before commenting on a subject.”

“His comments will not serve to distract me,” Edmonson added. “They’ll only make me work harder.”’

This article originally published in the March 6, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.