Cable film tells White story

Published 6:00 am Friday, August 3, 2018

“There are two, uh, guys fighting — two, uh, black thug guys.”

So begins the 911 emergency call to the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office on March 2, 2014, that led to the death of 22-year-old Victor White III, who died of a gunshot wound while handcuffed in the back of an IPSO patrol car later that night. 

Events surrounding what some have dubbed the “Houdini” suicide while White was in custody may be familiar to most New Iberians. White was the son of the Rev. Victor White II, who said he moved to New Iberia from Alexandria to help improve relations between police and the West End community. His son, who was not involved in an altercation reported at a Hop-In store, was stopped by deputies shortly after leaving that store with a friend. 

Two patdowns revealed a small bag of marijuana and no weapons, Police footage shows White being handcuffed and arrested without incident. 

Later, in a dark corner at the rear of the police station parking lot, with the in-car cameras turned off, a bullet entered the  right side of White’s chest. 

Deputies and a coroner’s report indicated it was a suicide, the bullet coming from a handgun. The “Houdini” nickname stems from the unimaginable bodily contortions that might be required to perform in order to commit such a suicide with hands cuffed behind them. 

The deputy who conducted the initial patdowns, Justin Ortis, claimed to have missed the handgun on White. 

New Iberia watched the town briefly enter the national spotlight when White’s death led to the broader investigation and eventual civil rights trial against the IPSO and its sheriff, Louis Ackal, in 2016.

That story is the subject of a new, two-hour cable documentary airing on cable next week. 

Sugar Town, directed by Shan Nicholson, premieres Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. on the Investigation Discovery channel. It was produced in conjunction with the Stephen David Entertainment company.

White’s death “becomes far more unsettling than any single tragedy, revealing a larger story of power, corruption and racial injustice nestled within a divided Southern town, with Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal — a man shrouded in controversy — at the center,” according press release for the film. 

“I personally remember the story when it broke nationally,” ID Senior Executive Producer Pamela Deutsch said. “But like so much in the news cycle, it went very quick, and so I saw it, but I never heard more.”

Deutsch said there was excitement from the moment  Stephen David Entertainment pitched the idea. 

“We all just felt like Investigation Discovery is sort of the home of true crime investigations, and this is just right up our alley,” Deutsch said. “It’s quite a mystery how someone handcuffed behind their back could shoot themselves in the chest.” 

The film was commissioned more than a year ago, and Nicholson and crew made several trips to Louisiana over the past year, capturing footage of New Iberia and interviewing the White family and others.

The Sheriff’s Office declined the studio’s request to participate in the film. A spokesperson for the IPSO confirmed to the Daily Iberian it is aware of the film but declined any further comment. 

Following his son’s death, White has become a voice against police brutality and corruption.

“My son should have been my legacy. Now, I’m his legacy. Now I’m his voice,” White, said.

He said he is determined to hold responsible the person that took his son’s life. 

An undisclosed settlement was reached in March before a federal lawsuit the White family brought against Ackal and a deputy went to trial. 

A previous ruling noted the manner of White’s death has not been “conclusively established.” 

White said he hopes the Sugar Town documentary, and any attention his story can get, might help reveal more details.

“The sheriff’s department has given me a new mission in life,” he said. “Not just for my son, but to reach out to all those families that are suffering.”

The film features rare or never seen archival and police footage, as well as interviews with White’s friends and relatives, with investigators, attorneys, media personalities and journalists, including former Daily Iberian staff writer Dwayne Fatherree.

“We always want to include journalists and people who’ve followed a story locally. He was the logical choice for us,” Deutsch said. 

For White, who has grandchildren in New Iberia, Sugar Town is only the next step in his ongoing struggle. 

“I have a new mission,” he said. “I have a calling on my life at this point. It is up to each of us to stand up and fight.”

That mission will go out to the ID channel’s more than 85 million cable subscribers at 7 p.m. Monday.