By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — A whistle-blower lawsuit filed against St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre by his former chief deputy has been dismissed by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier.

The lawsuit, filed by Tregg Wilson, claimed Wilson’s July 10, 2013, termination was due to him raising questions in May 2013 about the three interrogation rooms used by the criminal investigative division, which were under 24-hour motion activated video and audio surveillance.

Wilson, who practiced as an attorney before becoming chief deputy in 2012, said he saw potential legal problems with the recording devices, as they may be motion-activated while the rooms were in use for attorneys to meet with their clients.

Wilson filed a federal whistle-blower lawsuit against Tregre, who said the now-removed equipment was installed by his predecessor and he was unaware it was there until shortly before Wilson filed his suit.

In a 21-page ruling outlining the case’s history and reasons for dismissing the lawsuit, Barbier said Wilson’s lawsuit did not meet standards needed for a claim based on First Amendment Retaliation because Wilson spoke out “in his capacity as Chief Deputy, not as a citizen.”

“If the court finds that the employee did not speak as a citizen on a matter of public concern, there is no First Amendment protection,” Barbier wrote.

Wilson deferred comments about the case’s dismissal to his attorney, Todd Slack, who had not returned several phone call attempts as of press time Tuesday.

Tregre said he was “very satisfied” with the ruling, adding State Police did a “very good job on the investigation.”

In another St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office legal update, Trooper Evan Harrell of the Louisiana State Police said Monday there is “no update to report at this time” concerning the July 5 death of Ennis Labaux, 37.

Labaux died following a struggle with Sheriff’s Office deputies, including deputy Anthony Preyan, who was placed on paid leave following the altercation. Tregre said Preyan has since returned to duty.

Harrell said in July it is common for state police to investigate such cases, adding from what he has read of the case, there doesn’t appear to be any issues.

Tregre said because Labaux’s family has hired an attorney, he was restricted on what he could say about the investigation.

Harrell said the case is still under investigation.

In another case concerning an Edgard resident who was shot in the leg by a Sheriff’s Office deputy following an altercation, Tregre said the investigation is complete.

Kirk Bovie, 49, of 158 E. John Pierre St. in Edgard, was taken to University Hospital for treatment following an incident in July where a deputy shot him twice in the leg after he refused to put down his weapon. The deputy was responding to a 911 call that Bovie had physically harmed two women and broken a window.

Upon his release from the hospital, Bovie was arrested and booked with disarming of a peace officer, simple battery and simple criminal damage to property — under $500.

According to Sgt. Dane Clement, the deputy involved in the shooting, Arthur Ponder, was immediately given a leave of absence until the conclusion of the investigation, which is a standard practice.

Tregre said Ponder is now “back on duty.”