Sheriff forum: Patrols, leadership, tacos

PATTERSON — The St. Mary Chamber of Commerce is the host of choice for political forums in this election cycle. The Chamber’s format leaves little room for head-to-head interaction between the candidates.
But the five men running for sheriff managed to land a couple of elbows Tuesday in their forum at the Patterson Area Civic Center.
They’re running in the Nov. 6 primary that will pick a permanent successor for Sheriff Mark Hebert, who resigned in January because of an illness in his family.
The candidates were allowed brief opening and closing statements. In between, they took turns answering questions collected by the Chamber. No two candidates got the same question.
Blaise William Smith, Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi, Lonnie Labouve and Carl J. Thornton generally painted a bleak picture of what has happened in the sheriff’s office since the fifth candidate, Scott Anslum, moved up from chief deputy to become interim sheriff.
They talked of personnel departures due to low morale, a lack of patrols and greater than necessary spending.
“That sheriff’s office needs some help,” Grizzaffi said.
Patrols are the first line of defense against crime, Smith said, and visibility is the key to preventing crime.
Thornton pointed to what he said are financial and personnel issues.
Experience also factored into the forum comments. Four of the candidates have at least 25 years of law enforcement experience. But Grizzaffi, who is currently Morgan City’s mayor and does not have direct law enforcement experience, said the job calls for a good administrator.
Grizzaffi said he manages a city government with a $43 million budget and 240 employees.
“This department has been running the same plays for 30 years,” Grizzaffi said. “We need a new playbook.”
Anslum took on that argument in his opening statement.
“It’s not just an administrative job where you sit behind a desk and wait for someone to make a decision for you,” Anslum said.
At the forum:
—Labouve pointed to 30 years of work in law enforcement and a stint in which he was assigned to help train Transportation Safety Administration personnel after 9/11.
“It has to be about the public trusting the officers and the officers trusting the leadership,” Labouve said.
He said the two most important qualities for a sheriff are to know the law and to be fair.
Labouve said he wants to return to the sheriff’s office because “it’s in my heart and blood.”
He spoke in favor of community police and said he has had experience in federal, state and regional law enforcement. “I feel like I can do a lot for the department in a leadership role.”
He hopes to expand the offices work with juveniles into elementary schools to build trust and to bring a Triad program designed to help senior citizens in the parish.
—Smith said his law enforcement experience dates back to 1971 and goes up to his retirement after seven years as the Chitimacha police chief.
Smith said the office needs a good screening process for hiring new deputies and emphasized the need for solid training. And communicating with the public is vital. He said he’s heard from people who filed complaints and haven’t heard back from the sheriff’s office.
“That shows me a need to communicate,” Smith said.
The most immediate need for change is to make sure uniform patrols are fully staffed.
—Grizzaffi stressed his administrative experience as Morgan City mayor over the need for time in law enforcement.
“Greg Hamer (of B & G Food Enterprises), a great entrepreneur, has got Taco Bells all over the country,” Grizzaffi said. “I don’t think he makes a single taco.”
Grizzaffi pledged to be open in his dealings with the public, to stand behind his deputies when they’re right and to find out what went wrong when they aren’t. In an apparent reference to the reassignment of the jail warden and the firing of three deputies after two recent escapes, Grizzaffi said he wouldn’t “throw people under the bus.”
—Anslum said he has 25 years of law enforcement experience, starting with the Baldwin Police Department. With the sheriff’s department he worked with the special response team, as accreditation manager and as jail warden.
“Law enforcement is what I do,” Anslum said.
He said he would work with local police chiefs, sharing resources such as special response and offering help with investigations.
Anslum acknowledged that the department is “projecting a small deficit” but said the sheriff can’t control the need to respond to events.
A key to dealing with minor offenses is having a professional office, Anslum said.
“I think we have a professional service,” Anslum said. “I’m proud of what we do.”
—Thornton said he wants to talk personnel and financial issues in the sheriff’s office, and pointed to law enforcement work at all levels.
The biggest challenges are a lack of patrols and a lack of personnel at the jail. “We need to re-evaluate our management systems,” Thornton said.
He said he wouldn’t forbid deputies from taking off-duty jobs, an important source of supplementary income for some, as long as they understand that the sheriff’s office comes first.
Asked about drug abuse, Thornton said the problem “is worse than the public is aware of.” He said the current narcotics division does a good job, but he thinks it should be expanded.
In his closing, Thornton said, “please don’t be fooled by smoke and mirrors again. It’s about you.”problem “is worse than the public is aware of.” He said the current narcotics division does a good job, but he thinks it should be expanded.
In his closing, Thornton said, “please don’t be fooled by smoke and mirrors again. It’s about you.”