Randy Smith’s resignation was part of plea deal after attack on podcaster Bobby Couvillion at a Madisonville restaurant
A suburban New Orleans sheriff who had held one of his community’s most prominent political offices for a decade has retired shortly after pleading guilty to battering a podcaster who often criticized him.
Randy Smith, 61, also agreed to serve more than a year of probation after admitting to a late May beating at a steakhouse where he had bought 18 alcoholic beverages on his tab on a Friday afternoon – which all but halted his four-decade policing career.
Smith had been sworn in as the elected sheriff of St Tammany parish, Louisiana, on 1 July 2016, succeeding a predecessor who eventually pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges and was separately convicted of serial child sexual molestation.
Oh nice. He gets to retire with no real consequences.
Probably even still gets to keep his pension.
And get a new job in the neighboring county.
Probably sue the guy for damaging his hands.
( Im not kidding this has actually happened before)
A pension is something you pay into it through your career with deductions from your paycheck. Idk why people treat it like free money or something that is earned through merit. It’s the money of the employee taken and invested
Not all pensions work like that. Government pensions especially. Some work like you accumulate time in service and once you hit the threshold (typically 20-30 years) then they’ll pay you for the rest of your life. Often comes with healthcare too. Not sure how it works for NOLA police though.
What you’re describing sounds more like a retirement account.
I worked in the park service for a bit. Money was drawn from my paycheck automatically to fund the pension. You got the rest right though.
As for Healthcare, you do get to keep that, but we still had to pay for it. Pretty good price though.
The 401k was entirely separate
Yeah it’s his pension. But we, the tax payer should take it away from him as punishment/compensation for his victims. I don’t know what we’re missing here.
For police, a pension should just be a security deposit that you get back at retirement/career change if you’ve been good and not behaved like an animal.
Nah fuck that, put his ass in prison sure, but until we fix our broken ass country I’m not sentencing anyone to poverty in their old age. There are some people I really do hate, but I hate the existence of poverty more
Now I’m down for making them carry insurance that pays their wrong doing. That in turn will eventually push them out of policing
Then they should give his pension to the victim
As long as we allow it.
Smith had been sworn in as the elected sheriff of St Tammany parish, Louisiana, on 1 July 2016, succeeding a predecessor who eventually pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges and was separately convicted of serial child sexual molestation.
Louisiana, ladies and gents.
Red voters love them some child rapists.
Absent that they can settle for some good ole corruption fueled alcoholics.
So, still a step up from his predecessor, you say?
Pretty fuckin far from “just” Louisiana.
And at least they have gas station crawfish pistolettes 😎 (make no mistake, Louisiana is largely a hole, formed from hatred and poverty)
I’m shocked these guys aren’t working for the current Trump administration, and I’m not looking it up because it wouldn’t shock me if they were.
I have ignored hundreds of personal attacks directed at me by an individual who hides behind a computer screen,” Smith’s apology said.
Smith was said to have approached Couvillion from behind while the latter man was seated on an elevated stool at the restaurant bar celebrating his 59th birthday with his wife. Smith then, without warning, placed Couvillion in a chokehold and slammed him to the ground backward
Implying the guy’s cowardly for talking “behind a computer screen” (as though that’s not how most communication works in 2026) but also literally attacking the dude from behind. Whats a sensitive, hypocritical little bitch.
Also, as someone in a position of public office, he’s exposed to criticism and people have every right to direct criticism at him from behind their computer screens. That’s kind of what the whole first amendment is about…
Also, that doesn’t read like an apology. It reads like he’s saying “That fucker deserved it and I’d do it again”
Absolutely was a check–the-box apology required either by the court or his attorney. He’d never write one of his own volition, as he clearly doesn’t understand their purpose and probably has never apologized without being forced in his life.
Sims told reporters on Wednesday that Smith’s guilty plea was an important public reminder that “everyone will be held accountable for their actions, regardless of your title”.
“We didn’t want to have special treatment of the sheriff,” Sims said. “We treat him like we treat every other citizen that commits an act like that.”
But he did get special treatment.
Oh, that?! That’s just the gaslighting, lol. Hey look over here, a shiny penny!!
If that’s how every citizen who commits an act like that gets treated, then how about someone choke-slams him from behind? All they’ll get is a slap on the wrist, right?
he announced intention to kill the man, and he’s not on trial for attempted murder. cool.
Citing accounts from the victim and multiple eyewitnesses, Smith also reportedly punched and with his boots kicked a prone Couvillion in the face and body. “I’m going to kill you, you motherfucker,” Couvillion reported Smith saying. “You’re a dead motherfucker.”
There’s simply no way to know his intentions.
He put a guy in the hospital and he’s still on the streets? Guess they don’t have enough room for pedos and folks who violently assault people when they have to detain all those concerning immigrant children.
No worries, he will move a county over and continue his policing career.
What a fucking pussy. Sheriffs are the most corrupt arm of law enforcement. Every sheriff can suck my dick.
What exactly is a sheriff? We don’t have them here. Are they like State police?
They are like county level executive branch. Which is the level below state. In the case of Louisiana it’s parish instead of county. They basically have really high levels of authority in their jurisdiction. And it’s usually an elected position.
Sheriff’s typically handle the courts and transport of prisoners, whereas police handle law enforcement. In cities too small to have their own police force, the county sheriffs will fill the law enforcement role also.
Kinda, but they’re at the county/parish level
Louisiana taking ACAB to the next level
Citing accounts from the victim and multiple eyewitnesses, Smith also reportedly punched and with his boots kicked a prone Couvillion in the face and body. “I’m going to kill you, you motherfucker,” Couvillion reported Smith saying. “You’re a dead motherfucker.”
Beside interviewing bystanders and securing surveillance video, LBI agents wrote in a sworn statement that Couvillion had been taken to a hospital. Medical records showed he had sustained a concussion and two displaced front teeth, the agents said
I wonder, if I attacked someone, unprovoked, while saying “You’re a dead motherfucker”, would I too get probation? Doubt.
I hope the podcaster just completely leans in on it now. He can just keep rehashing it all, knowing that Sherrif Snowflake is hate-listening to it.
He’s just asking questions, right? Isn’t that the thing that the fascists always say? What?? I’m just asking questions! Can a bird be a fly? Yes or no! Just asking questions!
Knowing cops, he’ll continue to have his buddies on the force harass him. If he doesn’t continue to do it himself.
He should have volunteered to go to jail for assault and drunk and disorderly conduct - the law should apply to the “enforcer” - things might be a little less “jimmie and crowie” in the US if that happened
Judges and cops caught breaking the law should have the punishment doubled. The people we trust to enforce the law should be held to a higher standard.
This 1,000%.
Its really strange he retired.
Does that mean that if someone beats up the ex-sheriff now they will also get to retire as a “punishment”?
Does he still get his full pension? If so, definitely not a punishment to be forced to retire for being a fucking coward and assaulting someone when their back is turned.
Sounds more like a reward than a punishment.
Wow, sounds like the people who hold that office have historically been class acts! Jeeeez. (Also on first reading, I didn’t catch the last line was about his predecessor and was trying to figure out why that lede was so buried.)
