SLS 19RS-3245 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 241
BY SENATORS CARTER, BARROW, BISHOP, BOUDREAUX, COLOMB, MORRELL,
PETERSON, PRICE AND TARVER
COMMENDAT IONS. Commends Louisiana's female African-American State Police
Troopers for their service.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend the African-American female Louisiana State Police Troopers for their service.
3 WHEREAS, in 1936, the Louisiana Legislature passed a bill creating the
4 State Police, which emerged from a highway commission in 1922 with a force of sixteen
5 men patrolling the highways on motorcycles to its current status of a state police force of one
6 thousand sixty-three men and women responsible for all elements of criminal and highway
7 safety interdiction in the state; and
8 WHEREAS, the mission of the Louisiana State Police ensures the safety and security
9 of the people in the state through enforcement, education, and providing of other essential
10 public safety services; and
11 WHEREAS, State Police is an organization with an incredibly rich history, with a
12 motto of "Courtesy, Loyalty, and Service"; and
13 WHEREAS, State Troopers have faced obstacles from the inception of the
14 organization; however, historians have confirmed that their most challenging assignment,
15 along with the Louisiana National Guard, was being called to guard and protect civil rights
16 marchers in Bogalusa, Louisiana, in 1965 and 1967 wherein they had the task of trying to
17 prevent the violence and bloodshed that had scarred other cities across the nation during the
18 civil rights struggle; and
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SLS 19RS-3245 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, in 1972 Colonel Donald Thibodeaux was appointed by Governor Edwin
2 Edwards as Superintendent of State Police and led the department through many reforms,
3 including the allowing of women to join the force in 1974; and
4 WHEREAS, it was not until 1976 when Trooper Joyce Stephanie Isaac Thibodeaux,
5 now deceased, who started her law enforcement career with the Lafayette City Police
6 Department, became the first African-American woman to join the Louisiana State Police;
7 and
8 WHEREAS, in 2019, there are only eight African-American women to wear the
9 uniform, who are either currently serving or have retired from the Louisiana State Police,
10 mainly: Master Trooper Joyce Thibodeaux, deceased, (Troop I-Lafayette, LA); Master
11 Trooper Joanne Rozigas, retired 2018, (Troop B-New Orleans, LA); Lieutenant Charron
12 Thomas, retired 2019, (Police Logistical Services-Baton Rouge, LA); Lieutenant Treone
13 Larvadain, (Internal Affairs-Baton Rouge, LA); Sergeant Sanikka Williams, (Criminal
14 Investigations-Monroe, LA); Senior Trooper Zuleika Joseph, (Gaming Enforcement-New
15 Orleans, LA); Senior Trooper Lisa Quijano, (Gaming-New Orleans, LA); Trooper Melissa
16 George, (Troop G-Shreveport, LA); Trooper Qualyndrea Jones, (Troop B-New Orleans,
17 LA); and Trooper Tiah Larvadain, (Troop C-Gray, LA); and
18 WHEREAS, Lieutenant Treone Larvadain is the only African-American woman
19 currently serving on the force as a lieutenant; and
20 WHEREAS, like all troopers serving the citizens of Louisiana, these eight women
21 have maintained the values of the Louisiana State Police since the day they graduated from
22 the academy, which are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and
23 Personal Courage; and
24 WHEREAS, without a doubt, these women are dedicated to their profession and they
25 are also dedicated to their families as wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and sisters;
26 and
27 WHEREAS, in 2018, Lieutenant Treone Larvadain and Trooper Tiah Larvadain
28 became the first mother and daughter troopers in the eighty-two years of the Louisiana State
29 Police history; and
30 WHEREAS, among the most well-trained law enforcement officers in the country,
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SLS 19RS-3245 ORIGINAL
1 these troopers are proudly and courageously paving the way for others to follow and are
2 inspirations for all women to never give up on their dreams.
3 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
4 does hereby commend the African-American female Louisiana State Police Troopers for
5 their continued law enforcement service.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
7 family of Master Trooper Joyce Thibodeaux, to Master Trooper Joanne Rozigas, Lieutenant
8 Charron Thomas, Lieutenant Treone Larvadain, Sergeant Sanikka Williams, Senior Trooper
9 Zuleika Joseph, Senior Trooper Lisa Quijano, Trooper Melissa George, Trooper Qualyndrea
10 Jones, and Trooper Tiah Larvadain.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Michael Bell.
DIGEST
SR 241 Original 2019 Regular Session Carter
Commends African-American female Louisiana State Police Troopers for their service.
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