The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Randy Smith have been vindicated in a lawsuit filed by a former employee.
Calvin Lewis, a former captain with the agency, filed the suit after he was terminated in May 2017 for violating the agency’s anti-fraternization policy.
The STPSO’s anti-fraternization policy prohibits romantic or intimate personal or other close relationships between an employee and a known felon, Transitional Work Program inmate, or any incarcerated individual.
Lewis’s employment with the STPSO was terminated after it was brought to the agency’s attention that he was living with and in a romantic relationship with a convicted felon.
In May 2018, Lewis filed suit against Sheriff Smith and the agency, alleging he was wrongfully terminated.
Today, Aug. 2, 2019, U.S. District Judge Barry Ashen issued an Order and Reasons granting the Sheriff's motion to dismiss in this matter, and thus Calvin Lewis' claims against the Sheriff have been dismissed entirely with prejudice.
“I am pleased that once again the Federal Court has dismissed what I believe was another frivolous lawsuit against our agency,” Sheriff Smith said. “I have remained confident that I made the correct decision to terminate Mr. Lewis who knowingly violated the STPSO's policies and procedures.”