City officials said they do not know if 57-year-old Michael Mastin had urinated in the water supply other times in the past because the security archive only saves footage from the last 30 days.
A Louisiana government employee was arrested and fired after he was allegedly caught on camera urinating in the city’s water supply in at least two separate occasions in the last 30 days, authorities said.
Michael Mastin, 57, of Baton Rouge, was arrested and charged earlier this week on two counts of criminal damage to a critical infrastructure and two counts of contaminating water supplies, according to jail records. Mastin is awaiting arraignment and is currently out on $25,000 bond.
Mastin formerly worked at a water supply treatment plant in Donaldsonville and has been a long-tenured employee at the facility, officials said in a statement.
Mastin was allegedly seen in security footage leaving his office, turning the angle of the security camera, then urinating into the water supply, officials said in a statement shared with media alongside security footage.
Despite having changed the angle of the security camera, Mastin could allegedly be seen in full view of the camera and at one occasion, looking directly at the camera.
"I am extremely disappointed, and I find this conduct disgusting and unacceptable," Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment said. "This type of behavior will never be tolerated in parish government.”
Ascension Parish officials reportedly learned of Mastin’s actions shortly after March 22, according to the statement. An investigation was opened that same morning, and by afternoon, Mastin was terminated from his position, according to reports.
Mastin was taken into custody just hours after he was fired, according to jail records.
Mastin did not give authorities a reason for his actions upon arrest, the Advocate reported, but further investigation showed that he allegedly urinated in the water supply at least one other time in the last 30 days. It is unclear if he has done it more than twice, since the plant’s security archive only goes back 30 days, the Advocate reported.
Federal authorities have been notified and will be continuing the investigation into Mastin’s actions, authorities said.
Local authorities, however, are assuring the public there is no threat to the water supply as samples taken after the incident show the water quality is “in good standing and meets all safe water drinking requirements,” the statement read.
