Chief candidates square off - Part 1

Three of the four candidates in the upcoming Crowley Chief of Police election were on hand at the Martin Luther King Center for the first of two consecutive nights of political forums in which they were able to introduce themselves and their ideas to those in attendance.
After welcoming those in attendance, Crowley Alderwoman Ezora Proctor, the evening’s moderator, thanked everyone for their “interest in who will be elected to of one of the most important positions in Crowley.”
She then called upon her husband, Rev. James Proctor, to introduce candidates Jimmy Broussard, Scott Fogleman and Berton Gauthreaux. Candidate Oliver Bernard was absent due to an emergency but had a spokesperson, Anita Andrus, deliver his opening statement.
First up was Berton Gauthreaux, who discussed his 24 years in law enforcement.
“I began with the Crowley Police Department in 1986 after serving in the U.S. Air Force from 1974-79,” he said. “I have served as a field training officer and have experience in working burglaries, robberies and homicides. I have risen from the position of sergeant to captain.
“Whatever I was required to do, I got it done. I would appreciate your vote.”
Fogleman spoke next.
“I have 12 years of experience with the Crowley Police Department where I began on patrol and was promoted to sergeant,” he said. “I chose to resign to focus on running for the position of chief of police. I would like to increase patrols and do some restructuring to put more officers on the streets. I would also like to improve the communication between the sheriff’s office and our department. I am resigned to achieving these goals and I would appreciate your vote.”
Jimmy Broussard introduced himself next.
“I began as a dispatcher with the Crowley Police Department and the sheriff’s office,” Broussard said. “During that time I was also a chaplain with the Crowley Police Department, the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office and State Police Troop I. I developed from patrolman to sergeant to lieutenant to captain. I’ve served as a DARE officer and became one of the last state-certified juvenile officers and am a trained Amber Alert certified officer.”
Speaking for Bernard, Andrus began by stating that the candidate was sorry he couldn’t attend.
Andrus detailed an impressive list of Bernard’s accomplishments including an extensive background in the healthcare field and working with the Secret Service to provide detail for President Bush in 1989.
“Mr. Bernard has worked with the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Louisiana State Penitentary,” Andrus said. “He has over 20 years of law enforcement experience and has a good relationship with our future Sheriff K.P. Gibson. He would appreciate your vote for chief.”
The first question was, “Please describe two positive interactions with West Crowley’s citizens that you’ve had.”
“It would be hard for me to think of only one, much less two positive experiences that I’ve had in West Crowley,” said Fogleman. “I’ve been to the Martin Luther King Day celebration and I learned so much about Dr. King that I did not know. I plan on coming to more in the future because if I could learn something then why can’t I learn something later?”
Fogleman also described going to ball games in West Crowley and how he was impressed with how they came together.
“If we come together, then maybe changes can be made.”
“I’ve had many, many experiences,” said Broussard. “I’ve gotten to know the people of my community through the DARE program in North Crowley, South Crowley and at Ross Elementary. And I’ve actually officiated at some of the weddings in West Crowley. The best part is when I see some of them succeeding later in life.
“I was privileged to see the Dr. King Memorial in Birmingham, Alabama, when we went there for (his daughter’s) social studies project,” he continued. “As an officer, I’ve gotten to know the people of my community and they, in turn, have gotten to know me. I would like to see the officers and the citizens of West Crowley get to know each other to where they would know us by name.”
“I would like to see representatives from each part of the community form an advisory board to come together to say this is what we need.”
“Myself, like the other candidates have gone to the Martin Luther King Center for the celebration many times,” said Gautreaux. “One of the things I’ve done many times is get out and walk the streets and speak to the people in West Crowley. We need to move forward. We cannot solve all the problems. The police department and the citizens need to work together as one to solve our problems.”
The next question was, “What do you see as the reason for Crowley’s high crime rate?”
“Crowley’s high crime rate has been discussed in the news and one can probably say that it is because of drugs,” said Broussard. “We have a bad drug situation. Do we have a worse problem than any other community along the interstate? The answer is ‘no.’ It may be a big business here but it doesn’t have to be biggest business.
“I would like to see a program around here focused primarily on people around here. We may not be able to completely destroy it, but we can seize their property, their money, their drugs and make it uncomfortable to stay in our community — get arrested or leave. I would also like to patrol our ‘hot areas’ so that we can remain vigilant. Once we attack the drug industry, you will see our crime go down.”
Gautreaux spoke next.
“I don’t know what else to tell you, Jimmy just stole most of my speech,” he said. “We have a serious drug problem in Crowley. We have to get more patrols. Also, if you see something and are scared to speak to a police officer, come to see the chief of police — hopefully, it’s me.
“Public information is one of the biggest things we need to improve. The major problems here are drug-related. We need more patrols. We need to work together. Don’t be afraid to report anything strange you see. The drug industry doesn’t just affect one part of town. It affects all of us and we need to work together.”
Fogleman answered last.
“I have to agree with both candidates,” he said. “Drugs are a huge problem but there are other crimes we need to focus on. Crime hasn’t always gone up in this town. Thefts are down somewhat from last year. Homicides are down, though we had some last year.
“I’m not a politician. Sure we can use the help from the community but I’m going to get our guys out there to do our jobs. You have to move our people around you can’t just keep everyone in the same group. They become lackadaisical and they tend to sit around in little groups.
“I will fix that problem. If you don’t like the way I fix the problem then don’t vote for me next time. Everybody is saying ‘more patrols’ but the city doesn’t have the money for more patrols. We need to fix the problems from within our department and get our men out there.”
Wednesday night’s forum at the Rice Theater will be covered in the Post-Signal’s Friday edition.