Attorney: Petition for injunction against Jay Scott is attempt to 'intimidate and silence'

More than three weeks after his fellow Rapides Parish Police jurors filed for an injunction against him, District I Juror Jay Scott has hit back with a statement from his attorney, calling the petition an attempt to "intimidate and silence" him.

The statement from Alexandria attorney Thomas Davenport, who said he represents Scott, was emailed to The Town Talk on the afternoon of April 18. In it, he calls the petition "bogus" and said Scott was elected to the jury, just as President Joe Bishop was, and they have the same privileges.

"Bishop's lawsuit is under the guise of stopping profanity but it is a veiled effort to prevent Mr. Scott from being an effective police juror and representing his district," reads the statement. "We are looking forward to addressing this matter without further secrecy and backroom meetings.

"As a career politician, Bishop has much more to be concerned about than hearing profane language."

Bishop filed for an injunction with the 9th Judicial District Court on March 27, alleging that Scott had threatened and harassed other jurors and parish employees with profanity and mentions of his criminal past.

The seven other jurors filed notarized statements with the court that read they had reviewed what was in the petition, verifying that it was "true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief."

No court dates have been set, according to online Rapides Parish Clerk of Court's Office. Davenport is not listed yet as Scott's attorney, but he said he expects to file a response this week.

As far as the statements from the other jurors, Davenport replied that the petition "is not an action on behalf of the Police Jury.

"If Bishop and the other members got together and agreed to this lawsuit that is a violation of the public meeting laws because it was not placed on an agenda, discussed at a meeting, and authorized by a vote," he replied to The Town Talk. "Had that occurred and our laws followed, the Police Jury would file the lawsuit, not Mr. Bishop."

Bishop is singled out in his statement because he's the one who filed the petition, not the jury as a whole. He added that "a number" of jurors weren't serving when some of the events took place yet "they signed affidavits as though they witnessed the events as police jury."

That will be addressed later, he said.

"A half-truth is the most cowardly of lies and Joe Bishop's lawsuit contains even less," reads the April 18 statement. "In the lawsuit, Bishop claims he is shocked by Mr. Jay Scott's colorful words even though Bishop uses far worse language when addressing Mr. Scott and others. Bishop is applying a double standard because he and many members of the Police Jury commonly use such language ..., but Bishop is not suing them."

Davenport attached Bishop's address to jurors on March 11, in which he asked all jurors to address each other in a "professional and courteous manner." According to the minutes, Bishop said his words were addressed to all jurors, not anyone in particular.

It was adopted as a resolution by all nine jurors.

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Davenport said Bishop's references to Scott's arrest record were incidents that happened more than 25 years ago. He pointed to a 2007 felony cruelty to a juvenile charge against Bishop that involved a daughter and his ex-wife.

In mentioning Scott's criminal past, he "completely ignores his own past of violence and a criminal charge by the Louisiana Attorney General's Office for cruelty to juveniles."

The AG's office handled the case because the Rapides Parish District Attorney's Office recused itself. Bishop was a Pineville City Council member at the time, running for the jury seat he holds now.

A temporary protective order was issued for the teen, and his ex accused Bishop of threatening to kill her once and hitting her several times while they were married 12 years prior, according to court records.

Bishop never was arrested or booked into jail, nor was he arraigned on the charge. A Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office spokesperson told The Town Talk in a July 26, 2007, article that the investigative file was turned over to the DA's office, instead of arresting Bishop, "because there were some questions."

The state dropped the charge in December 2011, according to online clerk records.

According to the petition, it was Scott who brought up his own criminal past during an interaction with a parish employee.

The unidentified employee reported their encounter that allegedly happened at an unnamed restaurant while the employee was on her lunch break. She said Scott brought up his past while talking to her about an incident on March 11, saying people needed to read his arrest record and that he wasn't afraid of it, according to the petition.

Scott reportedly told her he used to be crazy, but wasn't now and that "if it was back in the old days he would have already cleared the courthouse" and that they didn't want to play with him.

But Davenport's statement says the "true purposes of Bishop's taxpayer funded lawsuit are to intimidate and silence Mr. Scott."

He wrote that the petition for the injunction stems from Scott voicing his opinion against awarding a contract to Acadian Ambulance during a "wine and dine" event hosted by a company official.

The official talked with jurors about the ambulance provider contract that will be before the jury for renewal later this year. Davenport's statement alleges Bishop "announced that the Police Jury would guarantee that Acadian Ambulance's contract would be approved in November 2024 and no other ambulance providers will be allowed in Rapides Parish."

Scott was asked for this thoughts, it reads, and "tearfully explained" that he could not support Acadian because he had to wait about 46 minutes for an ambulance to arrive after he had a wreck and one of his legs "was severed from his body."

The statement claims Scott "bled in the street for about 46 minutes even though Acadian Ambulance was located about six minutes away."

The wreck happened on Oct. 29, 2016, on Mason Street in Alexandria, according to online court records and Davenport. Acadian Ambulance has a station on North 3rd Street. Scott did lose a leg in the wreck, Davenport said after The Town Talk sought clarification on the incident Monday.

Davenport added that Scott has heard "numerous instances and horror stories where others were sick or injured and had to wait excessive amounts of time for an ambulance" among the young and old.

"Mr. Scott does not want anyone, specifically children and senior citizens, to needlessly suffer while waiting for an ambulance," he replied.

A week after Scott voiced his opinion, the lawsuit was filed "to prevent Mr. Scott from representing his district and doing his job," reads the April 18 statement.

Davenport also accuses the petition of being a "veiled effort" by Bishop at stopping Scott from being an effective juror and from representing his district. He said Scott is entitled to free speech just as any other U.S. citizen.

"If Bishop does not wish to hear what another has to say, he is free to leave or ignore that person," reads the statement. "However, he is not free to control what is said, especially on the taxpayer's dime."

Steven Oxenhandler, who represents Bishop, was asked if the jury president wanted to comment, but he did not release one as of Monday afternoon.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Lawyer: Petition comes after Jay Scott spoke against Acadian Ambulance