St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office deputies Wednesday arrested a Louisiana State Police sergeant. Detectives say Sgt. Huey Galmiche was caught "skip scanning" items at a Covington-area store.
"Skip scanning" is a form of shoplifting where customers intentionally leave items unscanned at self-checkouts, then walk out the store with the items in the bag along with stuff they paid for.
The sheriff's office says Galmiche was on-duty and in uniform when he committed his crimes.
"We hold all law enforcement officers to a higher standard and if they break the law they will be arrested," said St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith.
Louisiana State Police says they took Galmiche off the street once they got word of the investigation.
"Upon learning of the ongoing investigation, Sgt. Galmiche was immediately placed on administrative leave with all his law enforcement property recovered by Troop L supervisors," said LSP Col. Robert Hodges. "Professionalism and accountability are paramount within our agency and the entire public safety profession. When those expectations are not met, we owe it to ourselves and the public we serve to ensure the appropriate legal action."
Galmiche resigned his position with state police.
"Sgt. Galmiche made the decision to retire after 26 years of service and now must follow the legal process inclusive of his right to be innocent until proven guilty," Col. Hodges said.