The arrest and termination of a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office employee are highlighting his history of investigations and misconduct allegations.
Aaron Verrette was arrested for driving while impaired, and subsequently fired on Monday. He was a lieutenant at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Verrette has been on the Metropolitan Crime Commission’s radar for more than a decade. President Rafael Goyeneche said his firing is not the first time his tenure at a law enforcement agency has come to an end amid an investigation.
According to Goyeneche, in 2010 JPSO was conducting an internal investigation into possible drug dealing by deputies, and Verrette refused to cooperate.
VIDEO: What we know about terminated JPSO lieutenant’s work history:
“Usually a failure to cooperate with an internal investigation results in dismissal, so he resigned his position and went to go work for the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office,” he said.
Later in 2016, Goyeneche said Verrette went to work for Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office in the cyber crime unit.
“Two months after he was hired, there were complaints lodged against him by some of his subordinates, alleging that he was conducting himself unprofessionally. An internal investigation was launched, he was put on administrative leave and he resigned his position,” Goyeneche said.
Goyeneche said Verrette then returned to Plaquemines Parish for a few years, before being rehired at JPSO in 2020.
Verrette was promoted to lieutenant in 2024, before being terminated following his arrest this week.
A 2017 state law requires agencies to report when officers are terminated, resign in lieu of termination or resign while under investigation.
The law passed after Verrette’s resignations, but Goyeneche said more needs to be done to stop these patterns.
“If you’re going to put teeth in this, and there’s merit in having this central database, you need to impose consequences on departments that don’t comply with the law,” he said.
WDSU reached out to JPSO, the Attorney General’s Office and the Governor’s office, but has not heard back.
Background:
According to JPSO, Verrette was arrested for operating a vehicle while impaired. His employment was terminated following the arrest.
Deputies say around 9:20 a.m. Monday, they responded to a report of a man sleeping behind the wheel of a car in the 1700 block of Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie.
Verrette initially drove away from deputies and was stopped nearby. A traffic stop was conducted, and he was transported for a chemical test.
According to JPSO, Verrette submitted to chemical testing, and his breath sample showed a reading of 0.155g%.
He was arrested and transported to Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.
JPSO says the incident happened in his personal car.
Verrette is the third JPSO employee to be terminated since the start of August.
JPSO said Deputy Kyle Nugent strangled his girlfriend and committed a hit-and-run in the parking lot of an apartment complex with a marked JPSO unit.
Nathan Rome was fired after being accused of improperly using Flock cameras for personal use.
READ MORE:Fired Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office employee was previously investigated, accused of misconduct
