ZACHARY, La. (WAFB) - In his first one-on-one interview since a number of high-profile incidents began cropping up in the City of Zachary, Police Chief Darryl Lawrence said he wants the public to know his department followed the evidence when it made a tough decision to arrest a popular elementary school administrator.
In recent weeks, Lawrence had leaks crop up from his department about a BINGO game that his officers were playing tied to traffic tickets. The chief said that the game was stopped two years ago, but the details about the game leaked following the arrest of Rollins Place Elementary administrator Kristy Gilpin.
Then, a Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) officer was involved in a crash in Zachary. Blood test results leaked out pertaining to that case show the officer was allegedly over the limit. However, those results have not been produced to the Zachary Police Department, putting the brakes on officers executing an arrest. It has also raised questions about special treatment.
“They want to cast a bad light on the police department and on the chief of police,” said Lawrence.
He said the “they” he is referring to are people in the community who want the department to look bad after investigators decided to arrest Gilpin.
Gilpin was the assistant principal at Rollins Place Elementary in January, when a parent said her six-year-old was forced to clean up feces after having a potty accident at school.
The child’s parent, Jamisha Augustine, said her daughter has a dairy allergy and drank milk at school.
“What I want the public to know is that we didn’t have an opinion here,” said Lawrence. “We followed the facts, and the facts from the beginning to the conclusion, those facts led us to believe that there were some charges that needed to be filed.”
Lawrence said his investigators spoke to nearly a dozen witnesses and used other evidence to arrive at their decision.
“We talked with all parties that were involved,” said Lawrence. “We pulled camera video from the school and again we interviewed several employees.”
As the firestorm brewed in February, Lawrence said he wishes his department had addressed the legitimacy of their findings as they made the decision to arrest Gilpin.
“Hindsight, maybe we should have gone on and issued our press release,” said Lawrence. “Letting the public know that this was done and done thoroughly.”
The Zachary Community School District has refused to say whether Gilpin is currently reporting to work or if she is on leave as she faces felony charges of child cruelty.
Her lawyer, John McLindon told the WAFB I-TEAM last month that the allegations that led to her arrest were a big mischaracterization of the truth. “This is not a child that was sick,” said McLindon.
“This was a child that was engaging in bad behavior. It wasn’t a lot to clean up and she was given the proper wipes, and she cleaned it up and that was the end of it.”
McLindon added that the arrest has destroyed his client.
“It’s going to be a blemish on her record until we can get this cleared up,” said McLindon. “Someone with a spotless record now being wrongfully accused. We are going to go through the proper channels and get this all cleaned up.”
ZACHARY SITUATION CAPTURES ATTENTION OF CONGRESS
The situation in Zachary captured the attention of congress. This month, Congressman Troy Carter and Congresswoman Nancy Mace authored proposed legislation to increase the amount of dairy free options in school.
Carter said it was a direct result of the story he saw on WAFB-TV.
“I thank you guys for your great reporting and bringing this to light,” said Congressman Carter, a democrat from New Orleans. “...I was sickened. I was absolutely sickened as a father of two sons. I can only imagine that poor child. This is the classic example of adding insult to injury. The child already had an accident traumatic enough. You know how difficult children can be and teasing, and to have a responsible adult act in such an irresponsible and reckless way is unconscionable.”
Carter said the measure that is being proposed has bipartisan support.
It’s called the Freedom in School Cafeterias and Lunches (FISCAL) Act.
“Hopefully with the passage of this bill we can get it to the president’s desk, and we can create a safe zone, so children don’t have to only choose milk as an alternative,” said Carter. “They will have something equally nutritious for those who can’t tolerate lactose.”
With changes being proposed on the federal level and an administrator facing a felony charge locally, Chief Lawrence is hoping the firestorm that’s been brewing will ease.
“I think Zachary as a whole is a strong community,” said Lawrence. “We are strong enough to not be divided over one issue. Our police department did a thorough investigation. We followed it to conclusion, and it led us to make and arrest and we stand behind it.”
Gilpin is due back in court on July 2, 2025.
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