The same officer, John Chambliss, worked for 11 different departments in recent years, some of them more than twice. He's been involved in at least two shootings that I know of. That guy will show up a year from now on somebody else's police force. So, here's today's episode of trust us, we're professionals. An 18-year-old with zero criminal record gets pulled over for a burnt headlight, and somehow ends up jailed for 20 hours on a felony stolen gun charge for a gun that was never stolen. Amazing system, no notes. Thin blue lies, baby. Police find a firearm in the truck, they run a number on it, and boom, stolen gun out of Florida. Except, they ran the patent number, not the serial number. You know, the one that actually identifies the gun. Livingston tells them, calmly, call my father. Call the FFL dealer. This can be proved in 5 minutes. And the officers respond with, we don't want to hear it. Ah, yes, the official law enforcement motto. So, instead of verifying anything, they cage him overnight. Because why confirm innocence when you can just arrest now and Google later? Hello friends, thanks for joining us. I'm Elizabeth Vowell, my partner Greg is off tonight. We start with the WAFB I-Team. Imagine spending 20 hours in jail for a crime you didn't commit. That's exactly what happened to an 18-year-old in New Roads this week. It's the latest problem for the New Roads Police Department, which has come under intense scrutiny recently for an officer-involved shooting and other investigation gaps. Our chief investigator, Chris Nakamoto, spoke to the teen and his lawyer. It's another I-Team exclusive, Chris. Good evening, Liz. The teen is trying to figure out how this happened after he was accused of having a stolen gun. His lawyer says the officer ran the patent number and not the serial number, which said the gun was stolen. Tonight an investigation is underway by the city to find out exactly what went wrong leading to a 20-hour jailhouse stay on bad charges. They ran it multiple times. 18-year-old Maddox Livingston has never been in trouble with the law before, but that changed in a dramatic fashion Tuesday night when he was cuffed and hauled to jail for crime officers accused him of committing. Pulled over the other night for a burned headlight and no license plate lights. Maddox says he informed them that he had a weapon in his truck, and that's where his nightmare began. Ran the patent number that ended up coming back as stolen out of Florida. Put me in handcuffs, had my heart racing. Booked, fingerprinted, and facing felony charges, Maddox says his family was able to produce documentation that the gun the New Roads Police Department thought was stolen was actually legal. Something he says he tried telling them over and over. You can call my father. You can call the FFL dealer. It will be proved in 5 minutes. I could be walking home, going to sleep in my bed tonight. They kept saying, "Oh, we don't want to hear it." When the District Attorney's office caught wind of what unfolded, it refused the charges issuing this letter to the warden at the jail calling for Maddox's immediate release. Hey, quick time out. Because this is the part where the story stops being one bad arrest and starts being oh, this department is cooked. Livingston's attorney isn't some YouTube commenter. He's a defense attorney who actually deals with this department, and he says, on the record, if I were the mayor, I would abolish it. Not reform it, not retrain it, not put them on a performance plan. abolish the department. That's not a motion. That's someone who's seen the pattern and knows exactly how broken this is. And remember this, in just 5 months, this same attorney has already represented two different clients who say they were wronged by these officers. So, if you're still thinking this was a one-off mistake, yeah, keep watching. Specifically with respect to New Roads Police Department, if I were the mayor and I were on the city council, I would abolish it. Attorney Rob Marionnaud is now representing Maddox Livingston. His familiarity with the New Roads Police Department runs deep. In five short months, he's represented two different clients who claim they've been wronged by that department's officers. Eunice, when you approach, I don't need these sirens. Don't want to start one. The I-Team first to obtain exclusive body camera footage of one of their officers shooting the son of an Iberville Parish elected official while he was having a mental health crisis last year. Hey, I need you to put that down. Put it down. That man, John Sexton, was shot multiple times and criminally charged, but a grand jury reviewing the case found Sexton committed no crimes. Drop it. Let us help you. Drop it. Let us This week, the officer who shot Sexton, John Shambles, tendered his resignation via text message. The I-Team first to report the same officer, John Shambles, worked for 11 different departments in recent years, some of them more than twice. He's been involved in at least two shootings that I know of. That guy will show up a year from now on somebody else's police force. Officials in New Roads say Shambles' resignation had nothing to do with Maddox's gun case, and the New Roads Police Department got even more bad news this week. One of their officers, Quincy Lathers, was arrested on felony drug charges by the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office. Marino says Lathers was one of the officers on scene this week when his client was arrested and jailed when they accused him of having a stolen gun. Tonight we've learned a review and retraining are planned in New Roads to straighten out what's been going on there. And this poor kid, if he goes and applies for a plane job in the future, he goes applies to be a FBI agent in the future, he's going to have to answer for this for the for the rest of his life. For Maddox, after having no criminal record, trust in a system meant to serve and protect the community he lives in has now morphed to fear. I want the community to come along again and to to get back in line to what we should be. Now, the mayor of New Roads appoints the police chief there. The mayor did issue the following statement today. Quote, "To hear that someone was unnecessarily detained is extremely troubling. The police department is investigating to determine exactly what happened. Procedural adjustments may be made depending on their findings." City officials say they're planning a review and retraining. The mayor's office says the situation is extremely troubling, which is government speak for we hope you forget. Livingston had no prior criminal record, but now every job application, every background check, every federal application, he has to explain an arrest that never should have happened. Charges dropped doesn't erase the damage. And he says his trust in law enforcement has been completely shaken. Can't imagine why. This wasn't a mistake. This wasn't confusion. This was cops refusing to listen, running the wrong number, and arresting first because accountability comes later if it comes at all. Thin blue lies, baby. Hey. If you're still here, that tells me two things. One, you actually care about accountability and two, YouTube hasn't scared you off yet. So, here's the deal. If you've ever wondered what to say, what not to say, or how police actually play these encounters, I put together a full know your rights police encounters PDF. This isn't motivational fluff. It's practical. It's blunt and it's written for real people who don't want to accidentally talk themselves into cuffs. You'll find it along with everything else I'm working on at the links on screen. And if you want to support the work directly, no algorithms, no middleman, there's also Kofi linked on screen. That's how this channel stays independent and uncensored. If you got value out of this video, do the YouTube things. Like it, share it, subscribe. That's how this channel keeps exposing nonsense without corporate filters. And whether you grab the PDF, drop a Kofi, or just keep watching, I appreciate you being here. Thin blue lies, baby.