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State Police Commission accepts settlement, records retroactive resignation for Master Trooper G after recusal request
Summary
At its March 13, 2025, meeting the State Police Commission approved a joint settlement in docket 24-275-T that rescinded a termination notice and accepted Master Trooper Nicholas G's resignation retroactive to Oct. 25, 2024, following a formal recusal letter and an executive session.
The State Police Commission on March 13, 2025, approved a joint settlement resolving disciplinary docket number 24-275-T involving Master Trooper Nicholas G, rescinding his notice of termination and accepting his resignation retroactive to Oct. 25, 2024.
The settlement, read into the record by counsel for the Louisiana State Police, says the commission will accept Master Trooper G’s voluntary resignation effective 10/25/2024; withdraw his appeal of the disciplinary action; restore benefits described in the agreement; pay out 31 hours of annual leave at $47.21 per hour (totaling $1,453.51); restore 252 hours of 1.5 compensatory time to be paid out under LSP Rule 11.29(e) (totaling $11,896.92); and restore an unpaid annual leave balance of 1,930 hours into the state system certified under LSP Rule 11.3(a). The settlement was approved after the commission returned from executive session and voted to accept the joint agreement; commissioners indicated the motion carried and that there will be no trial in the matter.
The action followed a recusal request submitted in a letter by attorney Joe Craft on behalf of Nicholas G. Craft asked the commission to “consider this a formal recusal of all members of the Louisiana State Police Commission,” saying information received after an earlier hearing raised questions about Commissioner DeBose’s prior representations and contacts relevant to related matters. Craft described his request as timely and said he would offer evidence if a recusal hearing were held. He also said the recusal filing was informal and not a formal motion under the commission’s rules.
The commission chair responded that the body is "committed to ensuring fair and impartial proceedings" and said there was no credible basis presented in the record at that time to require recusal. After discussion, the commission voted to enter executive session to consider the matter; upon return the commission voted to accept the settlement and to close the trial process for the docket.
The chair also noted the commission had set the matter for hearing since Dec. 4, 2024, and that the joint motion to approve the settlement had been filed late—at about 3:47 p.m. the day before the meeting, after the agenda had been posted the required 24 hours in advance.
No commissioner explanation of a formal recusal decision is in the public record from this meeting. The record shows the settlement was signed by the parties and the appellant’s counsel moved to approve it; the commission’s vote to accept the joint settlement ended the appeal without a hearing.
Ending: The commission’s action resolves docket 24-275-T through a signed settlement and a retroactive resignation; the matter will not proceed to trial as a result of the commission’s approval.
