Pineville Police Officer Patrolman Raymond Eli Smith has been arrested in an undercover drug operation at a Pineville elementary school. Officer Smith, 37, has been booked with conspiracy to distribute powder cocaine and malfeasance in office.
In a ‘spur of the moment’ decision the Sheriffs office allowed an undercover operation to take place on school grounds. (What if something had gone wrong, and gunfire was exchanged? This was an on-duty police officer carrying a weapon.) Sheriff Charles Wagner said, “It was something we had to act on to take care of it to make sure that cocaine did not make it into the school.” (Still, I don’t think it was a good idea to possibly put the lives of our children at risk.)
Rapides Parish Sheriff Charles Wagner said Smith met with a informant working for authorities around 2 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot at Lessie Moore Elementary School while Smith was on duty. The two talked of a trip to Detroit to sell and distribute cocaine, valued at $25,000, Wagner said. Because of a radio malfunction the conversation between Smith and the informant was broadcast on a police frequency.
“That could be an extremely serious problem,” Sheriff’s Assistant Chief Herman Walters said, referring to officer safety. “We need to sit down and talk with the officers involved and see if they did anything differently to try to determine what happened.”
Officer Smith was arrested Wednesday evening at the Pineville Police Department by Rapides Parish Metro Narcotics officers. According to acting Pineville Police Chief Terral Paul, Smith has been on the force for nearly nine years and a D.A.R.E. Officer for more than a year. Paul says Smith was placed on administrative leave with pay pending an internal investigation by the Pineville Police department. RPSO is conducting a criminal investigation into the incident.
According to the Associated Press, Smith was released from the Rapides Parish Jail on a $12,500 bond.
A Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office corrections officer also has been arrested in connection with the undercover operation. Marcus Mandrell Taylor, 35, of Pineville, was booked with conspiracy to distribute powder cocaine.
Sheriff Chuck Wagner says Taylor has been with the department for seven years and is on administrative suspension without pay.
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