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Tangipahoa sheriff fires deputy after no-warrant raid at Hammond home; says actions violated standards
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HAMMOND — The Tangipahoa Parish sheriff said Wednesday he fired a deputy after seeing a video of a raid conducted at a local home without a search warrant.
Randall Kelley had been placed on administrative leave, but following an investigation Sheriff Gerald Sticker fired him. Criminal charges could be filed against the former officer later.
Video recorded from a home on Monday — and broadcast first by WBRZ — shows Kelley walking inside the house and then later pushing 18-year-old Jacob Pea to the ground in the front yard. Sticker said Kelley's actions were not justified, given the lack of a search warrant, and the former deputy's behavior was not aligned with department standards.
"As soon as we were made aware of this situation...Sheriff Sticker removed this deputy from the field, including taking his commission, gear, and unit," Sticker's office said previously while placing the deputy on administrative leave.
Pea's mother Michelle says the video of her sons arrest keeps looping in her head.
"Every single time I watch this video it hurts, it does something to my insides" Michelle said. "Why is he coming from down my hallway? How did he get inside my home?"
Sheriff Sticker said the Tangipahoa deputies were there to assist Ponchatoula Police officers who were searching for someone making school threats at Ponchatoula High School. The 16-year-old suspect was in the home at the time of Pea's wrongful arrest.
Sheriff Sticker says what he saw in the video is not what deputies are trained to do, and Pea did nothing to warrant the response they saw.
"Ideally it's a conversation, you're looking for an individual, ask an individual what their name is and ask for an ID. There was nothing, it went from zero to one hundred," he said.
While the family is grateful for TPSO's swift handling of the situation, they are asking for a public apology.
"A public apology towards Jacob for how he was handled, a public apology for my mother and father in the comfort of their home was disrespected," Jacob's sister Onisha told WBRZ.
"While we understand this encounter has increased doubt in your trust of law enforcement, we would like the chance to address that. We ask for your patience in this process and welcome you and your family to engage directly with the sheriff on this matter as it develops," the sheriff's office said.
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