Louisiana State Police Release Video Pushing Back Against Attorney’s Claims in Lacy Case

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) — Louisiana State Police released a video Monday defending their investigation into former LSU receiver Kyren Lacy, pushing back against claims from his attorney that they wrongly accused a 24-year-old who took his own life before facing a grand jury.

The Critical Incident Briefing Video came out the same day Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she’s independently reviewing the case and the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus demanded a formal investigation.

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What LSP’s Video Shows

The 11-minute briefing uses surveillance footage, body camera video, and witness statements to argue that Lacy’s reckless driving caused the December 17, 2024, crash that killed Herman Hall.

LSP’s timeline from surveillance video:

12:03:52 PM - Lacy’s green Dodge Charger passes three vehicles and one 18-wheeler in a no-passing zone at high speed

12:03:54 PM - The crash happens

Two seconds between Lacy getting back in his lane and the fatal collision.

“As the Green Dodge Charger returns to the southbound lane, aggressive braking and engine deceleration are immediately followed by a crash that can be heard on the surveillance footage,” the video states.

LSP’s argument: “All evidence collected supports the conclusion that Lacy’s reckless operation of the green charger in oncoming traffic triggered the chain of events involving the other drivers, ultimately resulting in the fatal crash.”

The video shows the gold pickup truck veering “out of the northbound lane into a business while the green charger is approaching in the same lane.” The Kia Cadenza behind the truck swerved left to avoid both, crossing into the southbound lane where it hit Hall’s Kia Sorento head-on.

LSP admits what attorney Matt Ory has been saying: “The Louisiana State Police never reported that the green charger impacted any of the involved vehicles.”

But they say Lacy’s high speed cut the reaction time for other drivers so short that the crash became inevitable once he forced the gold truck off the road.

What the Attorney Says

Ory’s presentation to HTV10 last Friday focused on distance, not time.

His measurements from what he says is the district attorney’s investigation:

• Lacy was back in his lane 92.3 yards before the crash
• When the collision happened, Lacy was 72.6 yards behind it
• “He is almost a football field away back in his lane”

Ory’s point: The Lafourche Parish District Attorney points out that “The evidence submitted in the crash report does not support that Kyren Lacy should have known his actions were the cause of the crash that happened approximately 72 yards in front of him.”

He showed body camera footage of a trooper telling the gold truck driver what to write in his statement: “You had to slam on your brakes to avoid that Charger.” On the same footage, the driver said he “wasn’t going fast” and “didn’t even cause any skid marks.”

READ MORE: Body Camera, Evidence Reveals Problems in Lacy Case Investigation

Ory asked why LSP never found or interviewed a passenger visible on video getting out of Lacy’s car—someone who saw everything.

How Both Stories Can Be True

Here’s what most people missed: Both versions might be right.

If Lacy was 72.6 yards behind the crash when it happened, and only 2 seconds had passed since he got back in his lane, do the math.

72.6 yards in 2 seconds = about 74 mph

In a 40 mph zone.

And that’s AFTER the “aggressive braking and deceleration” LSP’s video talks about.

This means Lacy could be both “almost a football field away” and still have caused it. The distance doesn’t matter as much as how fast everything happened. Other drivers had no time to react to anything except the immediate threat.

What LSP Added

LSP’s video included something that hadn’t been public:

“Troopers determined that less than 10 minutes after the crash occurred, evidence supports that Lacy’s first outgoing phone call was to a Baton Rouge area personal injury and defense attorney.”

This looks like an attempt to show Lacy knew he’d caused the crash and got a lawyer before calling 911 or checking on victims. Prosecutors call this “consciousness of guilt.”

LSP also said they used 21 surveillance cameras to track Lacy’s Charger from the crash to a Thibodaux business 11 miles away. They identified him as the driver on December 26, 2024—nine days after the crash.

They got “an additional witness statement describing the erratic driving behavior of the green charger 10 minutes before the crash,” showing a pattern of reckless driving that morning.

Officials Push Back

The videos sparked responses from the highest levels of Louisiana government.

Attorney General Steps In

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Monday she’s “been in touch with Louisiana State Police about independently reviewing all the witness statements and evidence in this case.”

The AG getting involved in reviewing another state agency’s investigation means there are serious concerns about how the case was handled.

Legislative Black Caucus Demands Investigation

The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus called for an independent investigation into LSP.

“The people of Louisiana deserve confidence that every investigation conducted by our law enforcement agencies is guided by truth, integrity, and justice—not bias, shortcuts, or the need to quickly assign blame,” said Rep. Edmond Jordan, chair of the caucus. “The inconsistencies surrounding the Kyren Lacy case demand an immediate and transparent review.”

State Representative C. Denise Marcelle didn’t hold back after watching the body camera footage of the trooper coaching the witness.

“In order for LSP to fabricate something the question is larger - what did it benefit them to frame Kyren Lacy?” Marcelle said. “We have to ask ourselves why. Why did you pick this kid to frame him for this accident he did not cause?”

Marcelle called for Colonel Hodges to be fired and said LSP shouldn’t investigate itself.

The caucus wants “a formal investigation, as well as public hearings, because we believe that a truly independent inquiry—free from internal influence—is essential to restore public trust.”

Civil Rights Groups Want Federal Action

Several organizations are demanding accountability.

Eugene Collins of the Louisiana NAACP said after watching the HTV footage: “When you watch that video and know the end result of everything that happened, you’d be less than human to not see a problem with this.”

Purposed For the People wants a full criminal and federal investigation.

“I have seen too many young Black lives destroyed by lies and deception,” said Celina Charles, the group’s founder. “This young man’s life was taken once by tragedy and again by the lies used to cover it up. When an officer fabricates a story and manipulates witnesses, it is not a mistake it is a crime against truth and against the people they swore to protect.”

The group plans a peaceful protest in Thibodaux later this month.

The Louisiana Democratic Party called the accusations against Lacy “deeply troubling and represent yet another painful example of how false reporting and reckless actions by certain members of law enforcement can destroy lives and damage public trust.”

The District Attorney’s Problem

Here’s a big piece: the Lafourche Parish District Attorney never formally charged Kyren Lacy.

As Ory keeps saying, “It’s imperative to understand the Lafourche Parish District Attorney, to this day, has not formally charged Kyren.”

LSP got an arrest warrant through the 17th Judicial District Court on January 8, 2025. But the DA never filed formal charges. A grand jury was supposed to hear the case on April 14, 2025—the day after Lacy died.

The DA’s investigation found: “The evidence submitted in the crash report does not support that Kyren Lacy should have known his actions were the cause of the crash that happened approximately 72 yards in front of him.”

That sounds like the DA had doubts about whether the evidence supported what LSP was claiming.

LSP’s video says they consulted with the DA’s office on January 2, 2025, before getting the warrant. But consultation isn’t the same as the DA filing formal charges or taking the case to a grand jury themselves.

The Other Driver Got Cited Too

LSP’s video includes something that makes this more complicated: “The driver of the Kia Cadenza was initially issued a citation for following too close, which was later amended to driving left of center.”

This is the driver whose car actually hit and killed Herman Hall. She got a ticket—meaning law enforcement saw her driving as part of the problem.

The ticket changed from “following too close” to “driving left of center,” which more directly describes what caused the head-on collision.

If the Cadenza driver was following too close, maybe the gold truck’s sudden stop would have caused a problem no matter what Lacy did. If she got cited for driving left of center, that admits her action—not Lacy’s—directly caused the collision.

Ory brought this up in his HTV interview. He said the Cadenza driver initially said she was trying to avoid the gold truck, not Lacy’s Charger. Investigators “attempted to recap what she was saying, which seems to contradict her statements.”

The Legal Question

Louisiana law on negligent homicide says someone’s criminal negligence has to “cause the death of a human being.”

The legal question: If you drive recklessly and force another driver to swerve, and that causes a chain reaction that kills someone seconds later—even though you’re back in your lane and driving away—are you criminally liable?

LSP says yes. The crash wouldn’t have happened without Lacy’s reckless passing.

Ory says no. Lacy was too far away and other factors (the Cadenza following too close, the Cadenza driver’s choice to swerve left instead of right) actually caused it.

A grand jury never got to decide. Kyren Lacy took his own life on April 12, 2025, in Houston. He was 24. The grand jury was scheduled for April 14.