Chief candidates square off - Part 2

The Historic Rice Theatre was the setting on Wednesday for a second consecutive night of political forums featuring candidates for the office of police chief.
The forum, which was hosted by the Crowley Chamber of Commerce, was free of charge to the public.
The election will be held Saturday, March 5. Early voting for that election ends at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Candidates Jimmy Broussard, Berton Gauthreaux and Scott Fogleman were each on hand to answer five different questions posed by the evening’s moderator, former Crowley Mayor Isabella dela Houssaye.
Candidate Oliver Bernard was not on hand for the event.
The first question was, “Why do you want to be the police chief of Crowley?”
“Sometimes I ask myself the same question,” replied Gauthreaux, to the laughter of those in attendance. “I feel as though I can better this city moving forward. We have crimes in this city that just weren’t around — or as bad — seven or eight years ago. I know I can better the department, and I will work to continue improve public relations within the community.”
“My life has been one of service ... it has been since I was very young,” said Broussard. “To become chief it would be another chance to be able to serve again. My career of serving the public began with the Crowley police. I became a DARE officer, a juvenile officer and I also traveled to Hawaii where I became a national Amber Alert officer.
“I would also make sure our officers take the care, the heart and the courage to feel the same way as I do. I would like to take that training and become your next chief of police.”
“I’m a police officer and not a politician,” said Fogleman. “I’m just seeking a political office. The only reason seeking this position is because I know that I can take these fine officers that do a terrific job, yet can sometimes be misguided and misdirected, and continue to move things forward. I would like to see the community and the department work together as one.”
The second question was, “What do you think are the best and worst qualities of Crowley?”.
“One of the best qualities of Crowley, besides being the Rice Capitol of the World, is that even though there may be three distinct communities within one city, we all come together in times of need,” said Broussard. “We’re a small community of 13 to 14 thousand, we’re a community united nonetheless.
“One of the most important issues facing the city is the drug problem. We have to make a concerted effort to attack that issue.”
“Crowley is a wonderful little town that people love and want to live in,” said Fogleman. “We are growing community and with this growth people could stay. And my generation would like to see this, because most of the friends I had don’t live here anymore.
“And the main problem we have here are the drugs, but it’s not just Crowley. But with proper policing it can be corrected, and I believe this can get done if I get elected.”
“The best part of Crowley are the citizens of Crowley,” replied Gauthreaux. “We have good citizens in Crowley and some not-so-good citizens.
“But like my two opponents have said it’s the drug problem that is hurting our community. If we can get the drug situation under control we can reduce our crime rate. I’m asking the citizens of Crowley to come together and help to end this.”
The third question was, “How would your department help our community’s business section?”.
“I’m going to have the police officers get out and meet our business owners,” said Fogleman. “I’d like to bring back events like ‘Coffee with a Cop,’ that was started under Chief Gibson and I thought was a wonderful idea.
“I want these people to learn our officers’ names because, once they learn their names they will feel much more comfortable talking to them and calling on us.”
“We need to get these new officers out there meeting the business owners and talking to them,” said Gauthreaux. “We need to have them out there going business to business and getting to know them.”
“As a small business owner, I would pay special attention to that,” said Broussard. “Response times are very important with preventing crimes. We need the business owners to know that our officers will be there as soon as possible if a crime has been committed.
“Having their trust is essential. And it’s important that they appreciate what our officers do. And our officers can fulfill an oath that they swore to uphold.”
Question number four was, “What do you want the perception of Crowley to be? What measures do you possess to make sure we get there?”
“I’d like to see again our police be a unit,” said Gauthreaux. “Until we come together as a unit of one we will not be a city of one. Our officers have to be trained properly to make this happen.
“We need to ride around with our windows down so that we can hear what’s going on. Unless you ride with your windows down, all you hear is what’s coming across your radio. You will not know what’s going on outside? If you don’t see a reflection on the glass at the business, get out and check that business.”
“There was a campaign some years back that was defined in three words ‘Catch Crowley Pride’,” said Broussard. “It involves the officers getting down and meeting the people they serve. And also they learned how we do our job.
“As that happens, we develop a trust factor. As that trust is built the citizens are proud of their police department and the police department can have pride in our city.
“Also the drug problems need to be addressed,” Broussard added. “Our street crimes unit can make a difference. If nothing else, we make it uncomfortable for dealers to stay here. And we can once again catch Crowley pride.”
“I would like to make sure that the public has the utmost confidence that the officer that responds to their call is a professional and I want our officers to be confident that the people they serve treat them with respect,” said Fogleman.
“As a legacy, I would love to see that the turnover at the Crowley Police Department is extremely minimized. We need to make sure that our incoming officers’ training is sufficient in all areas. That way the public will be confident when they call us that they will be treated with respect and dignity.”
Once again, the Crowley Chamber of Commerce wanted to make sure that all citizens take advantage of their right to vote on March 5.