Golden Meadow, LA – Former Golden Meadow Police Chief Troy Dufrene was arrested after allegedly deleting over a decade of official police records following his election loss.
According to the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, Dufrene surrendered to authorities on Wednesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He faces charges of malfeasance in office, injuring public records, and computer tampering.
An affidavit revealed that Dufrene admitted to deleting more than 12 years of police data from Central Square, the department’s report management system. The deletions began the day after he narrowly lost the November 5 election to Michelle Lafont by just nine votes and continued until his term ended on December 31.
The deleted modules included vital information such as service calls, Taser usage, overtime logs, fuel records, and warrants. Officers were forced to use handwritten logs as a temporary solution.
Investigators say a fellow officer recalled Dufrene stating that, since he lost the election, he would begin deleting files and it was up to the staff to remember what they needed.
Fortunately, Central Square technicians were able to recover the deleted data and restore the affected modules.
Attorney General Liz Murrill confirmed the charges and emphasized the importance of accountability in public service, particularly in law enforcement.
