THE INVESTIGATORS: LSP plans to implement new procedures after trooper ambush killing

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The head of Louisiana State Police, Col. Lamar Davis, announced changes are being made with the agency amid the investigation into the ambush killing of Master Trooper Adam Gaubert.

“I assure you, I have some questions,” said Col. Davis.

Col. Lamar Davis, supt. of LSP said procedures are changing where technology will be used to allow troopers to check in via their computers.

From the moment chatter broke out among East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputies that a trooper was involved in a shootout with a gunman, the all-out manhunt to bring Matthew Mire into custody had already begun. The following is an excerpt from Dispatch audio.

“918 dispatch … we had a trooper involved in a shooting in the area ... I’m trying to find out where.”

“Ahh, dispatch see if you can get in touch with LSP communications to get us any further. If there’s any deputies in that area, be alert. I don’t know what’s going on over there. Be aware.”

“Just approach with caution ... approach the area with caution until we find out what’s going on and where the shooter may be.”

It did not take long for deputies to piece together that the gunman they were looking for was the same one who had gone on a shooting spree that began around midnight Saturday and spiraled into later that morning.

“Be advised. State Police is saying that the description is an unknown man wearing all camo.”

“That’s gone be the guy from this morning.”

While that search was unfolding, what no one knew is that one of their own, Master Trooper Adam Gaubert, had already come across the man they were looking for. Col. Davis said Mire ambushed the trooper while he was sitting alone in his unit on Dutton Road at the end of his shift. While the exact time of the attack remains unclear, leaders with LSP say it was sometime between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Saturday. It wasn’t until several hours later at 5 p.m. when the trooper’s body was found.

“The time between the murder of Master Trooper Gaubert and the time that he was found was absolutely unacceptable,” emphasized Col. Davis.

He explained they are working right now to figure out what went wrong in their process. He said normally when a dangerous situation is playing out, regular radio transmissions are not made so troopers are not checking in. He added procedures are changing where technology will be used to allow troopers to check in via their computers in order to prevent something like this from happening again.

The 9News Investigators have learned it’s unclear if there was an active GPS equipped in Trooper Gaubert’s unit but it’s something Davis said they will now work to fix.

“Improvements are currently underway and they’re currently being evaluated for immediate implementation utilizing expanded GPS coverage, dormant activity alerts, and redundant personnel tracking by supervisors and our communication staff,” stated Col. Davis.

When their internal policy failed, Col. Davis said they didn’t know anything was wrong until they heard from one of Gaubert’s brothers in blue.

“It was one of his co-workers but we also received calls from a neighbor in the area who notified us that they observed a state police vehicle with a driver who was unresponsive,” explained Col. Davis.

While it is too late for the 19-year veteran of the force, Davis said his agency is doing everything in its power to make the system better.

“There’s no worse feeling than to lose a co-worker, lose a friend, or lose anyone but I can tell you that we’re learning from this experience, we’re getting better, and we’re creating a better system for all of our employees,” continued Col. Davis.

The suspect has undergone surgery and was released from the hospital Monday and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

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