ST. TAMMANY PARISH, Louisiana -- A former Louisiana state trooper was arrested Monday, accused of intentionally mishandling crash investigations in St. Tammany Parish that allowed two suspected impaired drivers, including a police officer, to avoid immediate arrest.
Brett Dupre, 56, was booked with malfeasance in office and filing false public records in separate crashes he investigated just a day apart in April 2023, according to Louisiana State Police and the northshore District Attorney's Office.
"As a result of Dupre's malfeasance, the crash reports contained false information, and two suspected impaired drivers were not taken into custody," a State Police news release said.
Dupre, who had been a trooper since 2008, was assigned to State Police Troop L, based in Mandeville. He retired in August while the agency's probe was ongoing.State Police began investigating Dupre after two separate complaints from citizens. They found Dupre intentionally failed to properly document and investigate the April 2023 crashes. The crash reports Dupre submitted also contained false information, State Police said.
Troop L supervisors reinvestigated the crashes, amended the crash reports, and then "charged the impaired and at-fault drivers accordingly," State Police said. State Police said they consulted with the 22nd Judicial District Attorney's Office before filing charges against Dupre.
Bruce Dearing, chief of the felony screening division for the 22nd Judicial District Attorney's Office, said the crashes were at the intersection of Louisiana 1077 and Louisiana 1078 in the Folsom area on April 8 and on Louisiana 1085 near Hano Road in the Madisonville area on April 9.
The April 8 crash ultimately led to the arrest of Leonard Holloway, an officer with the Franklinton Police Department, who was booked with charges of DWI and vehicular negligent injury. The Franklinton Police Department, which had initially put him on administrative leave, fired him after his arrest.
St. Tammany Parish court records show that Holloway faces felony charges of 1st degree vehicular negligent injuring — which Dearing said can incorporate DWI — and aggravated obstruction of a highway. His jury trial is scheduled for April 15, records show.
In that crash, the father of the man driving the other vehicle obtained surveillance video from a nearby convenience store that contradicted the initial trooper report that said his son was at fault. The son, Seth Klaare, was seriously injured.
"It took a long time and a lot of perseverance to get the State Police to take action," Seth Klaare's father, Joost Klaare, said Monday. Nonetheless, he added, "there are a lot of good troopers in Louisiana and they do a great job."
Joost Klaare said his son is still recovering from his injuries.
Holloway's attorney, Vincent Wynne, declined comment Monday afternoon.
In the April 9 crash, WVUE-TV reported that Dupre cited a driver who crashed into a truck with careless operation. He did not administer a field sobriety test.
But after Troop L supervisors took another look at the crash, they booked the driver, Marley Ellis, with DWI, Dearing said.
St. Tammany court records show Ellis' trial on charges of first offense DWI and careless operation of a vehicle, both misdemeanors, is scheduled for May 9.
State Police said Dupre was booked into the St. Tammany jail Monday. His bond was set at $35,000.
The investigation is ongoing, State Police said.
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