Judge orders release of videos showing LSP trooper slapping handcuffed inmate

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Newly released surveillance videos show a Louisiana state trooper slapping a handcuffed inmate inside a rural Louisiana jail in 2022.

District Court Judge William Jorden ordered the videos released Monday after WAFB-TV filed a lawsuit against Louisiana State Police to obtain them.

The agency denied multiple public records requests for the videos and at one point said it had no responsive records.

The trooper involved, Master Trooper Mathew Clair, was initially disciplined for using excessive force and suspended for 40 hours without pay. That discipline was later overturned, and he received back pay.

When State Police Col. Robert Hodges took over the agency in 2024, he supported a decision to remove the discipline from Clair’s record and replace it with a non-disciplinary letter of counseling.

After reviewing the videos, Jorden said he believes “there may be even more questions as to why that happened,” referring to the discipline being overturned. “I do believe there is in fact a public interest,” he said, ordering the videos released.

The two videos, which have no audio, were recorded by surveillance cameras inside the Avoyelles Parish Detention Center. They show Clair booking the inmate into jail on charges of DWI and resisting arrest after a single-vehicle crash in Bunkie, Louisiana.

A five-member State Police review board reviewed the case in 2022 and split on whether the force was justified. Three members found Clair’s actions justified, while two determined the force was excessive.

Then-Col. Lamar Davis deemed Clair’s actions excessive and suspended him, but the discipline was later overturned on appeal after Hodges took over as head of the agency. Clair ultimately received a non-disciplinary letter of counseling and back pay.

During a 2024 hearing before the Louisiana State Police Commission, an LSP attorney told commission members Clair used an outdated technique when he slapped the inmate and said he would be trained on updated procedures.

In addition to the original charges, the inmate was later charged with assaulting the trooper. He received a 90-day suspended sentence on the simple assault and resisting an officer charges. On the DWI charge, he was sentenced to two years of probation and fined.

WAFB made its first public records request on April 10, 2025, followed by additional requests in May, June and July seeking the footage. State Police initially estimated it would need up to 45 days to collect and review records but later told WAFB there were no responsive records, according to the station’s lawsuit.

In arguing against WAFB’s request in court last month, State Police attorneys said the inmate charged at Clair, forcing the trooper to act to protect himself. The agency also argued Clair was the victim of an assault and had a right to privacy that outweighed the public’s right to see the videos.

WAFB is represented by Scott Sternberg of Sternberg, Naccari & White.

State Police said it will not appeal the ruling. A May 18, 2026, hearing has been set to determine whether the agency must pay the legal fees incurred by WAFB.

Sources within LSP sent the WAFB I-TEAM a memo that Col. Robert Hodges issued to the men and women at the agency. Click here to reach the memo.

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