In October, 2011, when Lt. Derrick Stafford was already a Marksville police officer, he was indicted by a Rapides Parish grand jury on two counts of aggravated rape on two separate victims -- one in 2011 and another in 2004 when Stafford was 21. The victim in 2004 was 15. After Stafford was arrested on the rape charges, he stayed in jail for a month until the $300,000 bail was lowered to $40,0000. He was barred from communicating with the victims or owning or possessing a firearm or ammunition as part of the bail agreement.
In May of 2012, the state dismissed the rape charges, but still ordered Stafford to stay away from the victims. We've requested more information on why the charges were dismissed, but have not yet received that information.
Stafford also has six pending civil lawsuits involving him in Avoyelles Parish. He's also worked for the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office, Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's Department, Marksville Police Department, Alexandria Marshal's Office and the Chenyville Police Department. Norris Greenhouse Jr. was also named in several of the suits. Greenhouse is a reserve officer with the Marksville Police Department, part-time Marksville City Marshal, and full-time Alexandria City Marshal. The District Attorney has recused himself from the case because Greenhouse's father is an Assistant District Attorney.
All of the following civil suits are still pending in Avoyelles Parish:
January 3, 2011 -- While arresting a woman, Stafford allegedly threw her in the backseat with her hands cuffed and tased her without warning in the left side of her stomach while she was sitting in the backseat.
June 20, 2011 -- Stafford arrived as backup to a man who says he was being falsely accused of shooting his neighbor's dog. While the man was handcuffed and face down on his porch, Stafford tased him, according to a lawsuit filed later. The lawsuit is still pending.
July 4, 2012 -- While the Fourth of July parade was in progress, a family with a dog suffering from seizures and a stroke says they tried to get across the parade to make it to a veterinarian's and was told he could not go cross. The officer allegedly yelled at the wife and the husband ran across the street to make it to the vet. The man later called the sheriff's office to make a complaint against the officer, and was arrested for disturbing the peace. While he was being arrested, Stafford reportedly arrived and asked to arrest the suspect himself and put his handcuffs on him. The man spent the night in jail and later filed a lawsuit. A jury awarded the man $50,000, but the lawsuit is still pending in appeals.
December 2012 -- While breaking up a fight between two girls on an Avoylles Parish school bus, Stafford was working for the City of Marksville and allegedly pulled a 15-year-old girls' arms behind her back and apparently broke it. The girl's mother filed suit and it's still open.
June 18, 2013 -- Stafford and Greenhouse were driving a Marksville Police Department cruiser when they ran into an open gate owned by the Avoylles Parish Sheriff's Department. They sued the department and the case is still open.
July 4, 2013 -- Greenhouse and seven other officers, including Stafford, broke up a fight during a Fourth of July Celebration by pepper spraying into the crowd. It was here another officer allegedly arrested and assaulted a 14-year-old boy. A mother who was there with her three children, sued. The case is still pending. At the same event another man says he lost his keys in the confusion of the spray, and was slammed to the ground and assaulted by several officers who also allegedly pepper sprayed him again. The man sued. The suit is still pending.