SHREVEPORT, La. -- Caddo Parish prosecutors have taken the unusual step of seeking the recusal of a District Court judge from the criminal case against a sheriff’s deputy, saying he is biased in favor of law officers, as evidenced by his recent acquittal of four police officers during a bench trial and his membership in a fraternal police organization.
Caddo District Judge Chris Victory has denied favoritism toward law enforcement and refused to recuse himself, although he has now dropped his affiliation with the police organization and has asked another judge to hold a hearing on whether he should be taken off the case.
Thirteen police officers facing criminal charges in Victory’s section of Caddo District Court have opted for a bench trial before him rather than a jury trial.
Judge Chris Victory
Caddo Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Chapman is accused of misconduct in the way he treated a 68-year-old who died while in custody. Chapman has pleaded not guilty to malfeasance and opted for a bench trial.
Eight Shreveport police officers facing charges of using excessive against two suspects have also opted for a bench trial before Victory. Four city police officers charged with malfeasance in the death of a suspect were acquitted two months ago in a bench trial before Victory.
The type of recusal motion filed by prosecutors against a judge is highly unusual in Caddo Parish. District Attorney James Stewart said it was not in retaliation for the judge’s acquittal of the four officers.
In the motion seeking to recuse Victory from presiding over the deputy’s case, Caddo prosecutors said Victory has violated the judicial canons of impartiality.
Victory “is biased, prejudiced and/or personally interested in favor of law enforcement to such an extent that he would be unable to conduct a fair and impartial trial,” prosecutors said.
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Prosecutors pointed specifically to Victory’s associate membership in the Fraternal Order of Police, a organization of current and retired law officers that advocates support for officers. Victory joined the FOP during his 2019-20 campaign for judge.
Victory issued a directed verdict of acquittal this past June after prosecutors rested their case against four Shreveport police officers accused of malfeasance in connection with the death of Tommie McGlothen Jr. following a struggle with officers. Prosecutors said Victory did not disclose his membership in FOP and also questioned whether a large police presence in Victory’s courtroom and the hallway outside it influenced the verdict. They also said Victory, a second-year judge who had never before granted a directed verdict of acquittal during a trial, failed to state his reasons for the acquittals, as he should have.
Victory, in a written response filed in court on Friday, categorically denied partiality toward law officers.
“I decide all cases before me based solely on the merits and will continue to do so,” Victory said.
The judge said the FOP was among several civic organization he joined during his campaign for judge. Several judicial candidates and some sitting Caddo judges also attended FOP meetings, he said.
“The (FOP) affiliation was so tangential that it never crossed my mind until the (recusal) motion was filed,” Victory said, adding that he has contacted the FOP and told them to remove his affiliation.
Ryan Chapman
Victory, who said he did not know there were police in the courtroom during the SPD officers’ trial, said he was concerned about setting a bad precedent if he recused himself from the deputy’s case.
“If my attendance at a few meetings of a law enforcement group during a judicial campaign results in a finding of bias in favor of law enforcement, that would jeopardize my ability to preside over any criminal case,” he said.
The district attorney said his office is not retaliating against the judge over his acquittal of the police officers.
Victory did not follow the law by explaining his verdict against each of the officers, Stewart said, and he should have disclosed his membership in FOP so that issue could be addressed before trial.
“We have other matters pending before him where the same issues (of whether proper police procedures were followed) will be relevant,” Stewart said, adding it was premature to say whether his office would seek recusal of Victory in the excessive force case against the eight city officers.
Caddo District Judge Donald Hathaway will hear the recusal case involving his colleague on Sept. 7.
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After KTBS published this report, the Shreveport Police Union emailed a statement critical of the district attorney's office. The union said Stewart received and touted his own endorsement from the FOP in his election campaign, then accuses him of "waging a war against law enforcement."
The Shreveport Police Union is one of two labor organizations representing city police officers. It was formed, in part, as a result of some officers' dissatisfaction with the leadership of the larger and older Shreveport Police Officers Association.
"Our community is tired of this. The constant attempts to create a divide between law enforcement and the citizens will not longer be tolerated. The citizens see through it, the police see through it, and even many of our local political leaders see through this. This motion is an outrageous attempt to discredit a creditable judge, rather than just accept that the case of McGlothen brought against the officers was a witch hunt. A witch hunt that took the District Attorney taking this case to Grand Jury on two occasions. Mr. McGlothen’s death, be it tragic, was not caused by those officers," the union states.
The statement continued, in part: "As a Union chartered through the International Union of Police Associations under AFL-CIO, we have heard the citizens of this community. It is time for the District Attorneys Office to start spending its time working with law enforcement to prosecute those who seek to destroy our community, rather than persecuting those who strive to protect it. District Attorney James (Stewart), please do better, Caddo Parish needs you to, and the numerous victims of violent crimes need you to be the man you promised to be."
