Head of ICE Detention Contractor Reportedly Dead in Plane Crash
Rodney Cooper’s plane reportedly crashed while en route from Huntsville, Tx to Louisiana
64 year-old Rodney Cooper, Executive Director of Louisiana-based, family-owned Lasalle Corrections, reportedly died in a crash of the Cirrus SR-22 single-engine piston plane he was flying in, according to Jackson Parish Sheriff Andy Brown, as first reported by KNOE. Cooper was on his way to the Ruston (LA) airport from Huntsville, Texas. Ruston is where the family that owns Lasalle and its various satellite companies calls home.
LaSalle Corrections is one of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s top detention contractors. Cooper appeared virtually before an oversight hearing convened by the U.S. House of Representatives in July 2020 alongside GEO Group Chairman George Zoley and CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. The plane he was piloting reportedly made several loops around the Ruston airport prior to crashing in a heavily wooded area.
Cooper joined LaSalle in 2009 after retiring from a 30-year career with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.