PEARL RIVER, La.—A U.S. Army veteran had a rough night January 21, and he shared that with his friends on Facebook. That rough night went from bad to worse after five St Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputies beat Chris Cambre, 47, and Tased him while checking on his welfare.
At the urging of District Attorney Warren Montgomery, federal investigators are now looking into whether the five deputies violated Cambre’s civil rights.
Friends had called 911 to get police to check on Cambre after he posted on Facebook that he was struggling.
A Pearl River Police Department report on the incident describes the chaos that erupted while Cambre was having a calm conversation with a local paramedic.
First responders were trying to convince Cambre to go to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
“After speaking to my own officer, he was very calm. He just didn't want to go to the hospital,” said Pearl River Police Chief JJ Jennings.
Only one officer was on duty that night, and dispatch called STPSO for back up, as they knew Cambre had military training.
When the five deputies arrived, they approached Cambre with guns drawn.
"They were screaming at me to stop resisting, but there was no resistance," said Cambre. "I was laying, pretty much face down, in the mud. My palms were facing skyward. I'll never forget."
According to the report, Cambre lifted his shirt and turned around to show he wasn’t armed and he never raised his voice. The narrative says one of the deputies yelled he was tired of dealing with Cambre and ordered him to get down on his knees.
“I don't understand what he did wrong to deserve to be tased or batoned but I wasn't out there,” Jennings said.
The police report says the five deputies jumped on Cambre after shocking him with the stun gun. After he was on the ground, one of the deputies continued beating him with the police baton.
He was handcuffed and taken to the hospital bruised and bleeding from his jaw, but Cambre was never charged with a crime.
Cambre filed an internal affairs complaint with the St Tammany Sheriff's Office, but he said the sheriff’s office told him two weeks later the case was closed. Jennings said his staff was told the same thing.
“After we found out that the calls, that they decided the case was closed, that their officers handled it properly, then it was handed over to the DA's office and they're actively investigating this case,” Jennings said.
DA Warren Montgomery said he handed the case over to federal investigators to determine if Cambre's civil rights were violated.
Sheriff Smith declined an interview request about this story.