The legal battle between the city and T.J. Bell of the Lake Charles Police Department entered a new chapter recently after a petition for damages was filed by Bell’s attorney against several officers and a local official.
The petition was filed on July 14 in 14th District Judicial Court. Mayor Randy Roach, Police Chief Don Dixon, Deputy Chief Mark Kraus and Sgt. Richard Harrell are listed as defendants in the document, which describes collusion between officers, falsified grand jury testimonies, and general abuses of procedure.
In 2015, Bell was fired from the department because of allegations that under his command, an employee was paid for time she did not work. Bell was indicted on one count malfeasance in office. The employee — Jeanine Blaney — was fired and was indicted on one count of payroll fraud.
In April, state district court Judge Sharon Wilson ordered Bell reinstated.
Throughout the process, Bell’s attorney, Todd Clemons, said the accusations from the city were unfounded and that Bell and his family would be fighting to clear their name. When Bell was reinstated, Clemons described the ruling as “complete vindication” for the former deputy chief.
While the financial amount Bell is seeking is not listed in the petition, the document does say that during the legal proceedings in 2015, he and his wife, Beulah, endured injuries to their reputations, loss of income, public humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish.
City attorney Billy Loftin said that since Dixon and other officers were named individually as defendants in the suit, the city has to arrange their representation in the matter.
“This lawsuit arises out of the circumstances which led to the termination of Deputy Chief T.J. Bell. The matter was referred to the District Attorney’s Office and resulted in a grand jury indictment against Deputy Chief T.J. Bell,” Loftin said. “We find no merit in the allegations which he has made against the city and individual officers and intend to defend this suit.”
The petition stems from the circumstances leading to Bell’s termination from the department. The legal proceedings that followed are detailed at length in the filing.
According to the petition, Harrell is accused of colluding with other officers to make defamatory statements that were “deliberately falsified” in his offense report to the District Attorney’s Office. Harrell’s testimony is what led to Bell’s charges, according to the petition.
Harrell is accused in the filing of having a conflict of interest in the matter because he “actively desired” Bell’s job. Harrell had applied for the position on two separate occasions before the firing, the filing reads.
Dixon and Kraus, who in the petition are said to have conspired with Harrell to defame Bell by misrepresenting facts to the DA’s Office, also had conflicts of interest in the matter because Kraus wanted to be police chief and Dixon wanted Kraus to succeed him, even though Bell had seniority, according to the document.
All three men “abused the criminal procedure process” for leverage against Bell in the civil service proceedings in October, the filing reads. The actions by all three department employees were part of a collective push to force Bell into retirement instead of fighting the termination.
The petition says Harrell, Kraus and Dixon influenced Capt. Arnold Bellow’s testimony at Bell’s hearing, and abused the criminal procedure process to keep Bell from testifying at the civil service proceedings.
One of the officers listed in the suit is being represented by local attorney Chris Ieyoub, who said the petition is a reflection of Bell not taking ownership of his actions while with the department.
“Rather than accepting personal responsibility for his actions, T.J. Bell has made outrageous claims and seeks money damages against the city, chief of police and other police officers,” Ieyoub said. “These men have worked their entire professional lives to protect and serve this community with highest integrity. Their reputations and good names were not given; they were earned. We look forward to proving every allegation to be false and will vigorously pursue every legal avenue to protect the character and honor of these fine officers.”
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