by T. Scott Boatright
Ruston Police Chief Eric Watson appeared at a Meet and Greet on Tuesday evening at Mays Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church to talk to local residents about any concerns they have about safety in the city of Ruston.
It didn’t take long before Watson was met with a flurry of impassioned frustrations voiced by many of the approximately 45 people in attendance at the meeting.
It was the second appearance at such a meeting for Watson, who took over the RPD in March.
Mayor Ronny Walker opened the meeting by explaining the process of his hire before letting Watson take over.
“When (former Ruston Police Chief Steve Rogers) retired, we opened it up for people to apply, and of course, with Civil Service only certain people can apply from within the police department,” Walker said. “We had 10 people apply and we interviewed all five. Our interview committee, which was composed of five people, came back with Eric as our choice.
“He has done an incredible job already. We’re seeing more policemen on the streets. He’s hiring more people and we’re excited about the direction we’re headed.”
Watson opened by describing his background of 25 years in law enforcement, beginning as a RPD officer in the 1990s before accepting a job with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, saying that he plans on making changes within the Ruston Police Department.
“The DEA works with a lot of local agencies and I’ve been able to take some nuggets learned from a lot of different places,” Watson said. “A lot of different agencies not in the South police a little differently. Unfortunately — or fortunately — some of the people that work for me are going to find out I’m going to police a little different and there are going to be some changes at the Ruston Police Department,
“There’s going to be some growing pains. Since I’ve been there I think I’ve hired five people and then there were a handful that were hired before I got there. I intend on hiring several more people. The mayor has told me to hire until he tells me to stop.”
Watson said that on any given Friday or Saturday night, at the most, the RPD has only five officers on the street.
“One of those officers will be working the north side of town, two of the officers will be working the south side of town, one east and one west, and then there are two supervisors that kind of roves and catch calls in the middle. That means that if we have one disturbance in the Walmart parking lot, there’s nobody else to cover a whole part of the city.
“That’s scary to me and it should be scary to you. So I’m trying to build our numbers up to at least 27 or 28, which is about average for a city our size. It’s not easy to do. I have people who come in and try to do that hiring interview process, and they literally cannot complete a paragraph. … I find that to be unfortunate, but that’s where we are.”
Watson said he interviewed 17 applicants last week but only two met the standard he’s set to be moved forward in the process.
The first sign of frustration came a little more than six minutes into his talk as Watson was asked if there was such a thing as a “blue code” within the RPD, where officers are hired without any consideration of previous complaints while working at a previous agency.
According to the National Institute of Justice, the reluctance of police officers to report corrupt activities by their fellow officers (also known as “The Code,” “The Code of Silence,” or “The Blue Curtain”), the reluctance of police administrators to acknowledge the existence of corruption in their agencies, the benefits of the typical corrupt transaction to the parties involved, and the lack of immediate victims willing to report corruption.
Watson said any criminal record would not be hired as an RPD officer and that any RPD officer being investigated for a questionable action would be held accountable.
Ruston resident Bill Smith then asked Watson about the hiring of former Louisiana State Police Superintendent Ken Reeves, who retired from that position in 2020 in the midst of controversy surrounding the in-custody death of Ronald Green. Reeves faced a potential contempt of court ruling in 2022 before agreeing to turn over journals containing notes from his meetings as LSP Superintendent under the condition that they remain under seal.
In January of this year, Federal prosecutors told family members Tuesday they will not bring charges against officers involved in that case.
Watson said that he hired Reeves as a consultant reviewing evidence in RPD possession dating back to 1980.
“That’s one of the things he did with the Louisiana State Police — conduct audits of its evidence program,” Watson said. “So he’s looking at our evidence program and making recommendations on how I can get rid of this evidence, and it’s going to take a lot of down and dirty work and a lot of destruction orders that have to be processed through the court system, and some recommendations on how we can upgrade our process in the way we intake evidence and how we get rid of it.
“And that’s it. It’s a consulting position. He’s not going to have any influence on what I do. Will I ask him questions about what I should do in certain situations? No more than I ask my two deputy chiefs.”
As the meeting continued, Watson faced more than a few accusations from some of those in attendance concerning interactions between RPD officers and what was considered by some in the audience as bad attitudes from law enforcement personnel deemed too quick to charge people with resisting arrest as opposed to talk through a situation without changes being filed.
The term “harrassment” was used more than once in some of those accusations.
Watson said he does realize that some of those incidents were the result of traffic stops targeting vehicles that could be involved in numerous vehicle burglaries throughout the city.
“That’s called aggressive traffic enforcement and I’m not going to apologize for it,” Watson said.
One woman in the crowd said that should she find herself driving in front of a police car with its overhead lights lit up, she wouldn’t stop out of fear of the police.
Mays Chapel Pastor Terence Flucas stepped in at that point trying to reduce the palpable tension being felt in the room.
“Are there going to be changes in the ways officers approach people, how they talk to people, without abusing their power?,” Flucus asked. “Will they try to deescalate the situation or while they continue to allow the situation to escalate to the point where we’re in cuffs facing resisting arrest charges?”
Walker then spoke, trying to reduce the rising tension while also giving Watson a vote of confidence.
“I think the pastor’s comments are excellent,” Walker said. “That’s the reason I hired a man that I believe can make that happen. How many times over the previous 11 years did the police chief come stand before you in this room and answer questions? I can tell you. Not one time — zero.
“And I’m not throwing anybody under the bus. I’m just saying, this man right here (Watson), I hired him for the very things y’all are saying. And he’s going to get there.”
Watson said he plans on running a professional police department and explained how he hopes things will go moving forward.
“This is what I would like to see happen,” Watson said. “You have an interaction with law enforcement and it doesn’t go well, I want to change that. I want as many positive interactions with law enforcement as I possibly can (get). I want to change the experience that enough people have and change the perception of the police department,
“I am desperately trying to change that perception. Can I change the perception of every police officer? No. But they can hear from me everyday, and I’ve got a big voice and I’m not afraid of anybody in there. I’m not afraid to talk to them about it and be real about it. You’re going to see me in places like this. I’m going to come talk to the community and I want to try and make this a better place for all of us.”
Toward that end, Watson said he is currently working on creating a Citizen’s Academy to allow citizens to see what RPD officers do and what they deal with.
“That will include some simulation training to see how (officers)should interact with the public, and plans for that should come out in a couple of weeks.”
Watson explained that his officers often face quick and open hostility while making traffic stops with people from yards and businesses surrounding an incident location.
“Before they even make contact, they’re getting profanity slung at them, and they’re supposed to respond in a much different manner,” Watson said. “I’m not saying they shouldn’t respond in a different manner, in a more professional manner than they’re being treated in. I’m just saying that sometimes we might need to give them a little grace, just like they do for everybody else.”
As negative responses from the audience continued, Watson admitted that hearing an “us against them” attitude from the public is very disturbing.
“I personally don’t understand where the animosity is coming from,” Watson said. “Because I don’t want that.”
But the tension only escalated at that point as Flucas jumped in to try and bring the meeting back to order as it was headed toward its end.
“First of all, he showed up. We have to give (Watson) credit for that,” Flucas said, having to raise his voice to try and regain decorum during the conversation. “We’re also going to insist that the officers do their part. He’s only been on the job a few months. We at least need to give him some time to make changes.
“Of course we’re pissed off. Of course we’re tired. But he’s new on the job. We at least need to give him time to see if he can bring about some change so that we can feel happy about those changes. Let’s give him time to see if he can make changes based on some of the concerns we voiced here tonight.”
Watson is scheduled to hold another such meet and greet meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 4 at Zion Traveler Baptist Church.
