Mayor of Gueydan focused on building back police department
GUEYDAN, La. (KLFY) – The town council in Gueydan will soon appoint an interim police chief. Embattled Police Chief Shawn Theriot resigned earlier this week.
Several officers have also resign recently. Vermilion Parish deputies are helping patrol the town. The town's mayor, Jude Reese, is now a one-man recruiting company, hiring a new police force in a hurry.
The Gueydan Police Department currently has only 4 police officers on staff, so they are not at full strength. Reese says his focus now is to rebuild the department. "A couple of weeks ago we had three full-time officers. One resigned. About a week ago now another resigned. The last one resigned Tuesday evening. Two hours later the chief resigned," said Reese. Theriot turned in his letter of resignation Tuesday. He's under indictment for malfeasance in office, stemming from an altercation at a tire shop last year.
"Of course I was disappointed. Just like anybody else, you're going to be disappointed. At the end of the day, I have to remember that it's not about me, not about the chief, it's not about the council. It's about this town. It's about the people," said Reese.
Reese says he's been hiring new police officers to get the force back up to full strength. "Small town, small budget. It's hard to be competitive pay-wise. It's the same for every small community. Gueydan, Erath, Delcambre, Kaplan. It's tough. It's budget," said Reese.
The Gueydan Town Council will have a special meeting to appoint the interim chief on Monday. He or she will serve out the remainder of the term until the end of the year. The people of Gueydan will elect a new chief in November.