October 26, 2022  |  08:56 am
Sheriff Randy Smith is pleased to learn the “whistleblower” lawsuit filed by former Chief Deputy Fred Oswald has been dismissed. Sheriff Smith was informed Tuesday (October 25) afternoon of the District Court’s favorable ruling. The court issued its reasons for judgment, in which it went through the myriad of factual allegations made by Oswald, ultimately rejecting all of them. The court further determined that despite Oswald’s allegations, there were no violations of law by Sheriff Smith, and the court determined that the District Attorney’s Office was in fact provided with everything that it needed from the Sheriff’s Office in order to secure a conviction of a former STPSO employee. The District Court further concluded Sheriff Smith was well within his rights to terminate Oswald, once Sheriff Smith had determined Oswald’s service was no longer needed in his administration. “Fred Oswald is but another example of an individual from the prior corrupt administration who was lawfully terminated and rather than accept that decision, he, like Calvin Lewis, chose to file a frivolous lawsuit and waste the taxpayers’ money,” Sheriff Smith said. “Fortunately, both of these lawsuits were rejected and dismissed by the courts at the plaintiffs’ costs.” “I will never stop fighting against those who wish to drag the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office back to the way things used to be,” Sheriff Smith added.