Mamou sets election date to fill police chief vacancy

Following the resignation of Police Chief Robert McGee, the Mamou Town Council set a special election date to fill the position, but it decided to postpone appointing an interim chief during its Oct. 14 meeting.
A special election to fill McGee’s remaining term will be held on March 5, 2016; with an April 9 run-off, if needed. Qualifying for the position will end at the beginning of December.
Meanwhile, the council will need to appoint an interim chief of police. However, Mayor Ricky Fontenot asked the council to table the appointment until he has time to “answer a couple of questions” about possible candidates.
The council voted unanimously to table the appointment. An interim chief must be appointed within 20 days of McGee’s resignation last week. Consequently, the council will have to have a special meeting soon to appoint the interim chief. The date of the special meeting was not set.
After the meeting, Fontenot said that he has “a couple of people in mind” as possible interim appointments.
“I want to make sure we’re doing this the right way,” Fontenot said.
Fontenot declined to reveal either the specific possible replacements or the questions he is looking into.
As of McGee’s resignation, Capt. Stephanie Ortego, a veteran dispatcher, will be running the police department.
Last week in a special meeting, during which McGee hinted that he might be resigning, Ortego was named administrative assistant. She was given the authority to act in the place of McGee, should he be absent from the job.
McGee’s resignation last week had been the subject of rumor based on his role in using TASER guns on inmates in the Mamou jail five years ago. The incidents were the subject of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
After resigning, McGee pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of the deprivation of rights under color of law, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. McGee has not been sentenced yet, but faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
In April this year, former police chief Greg Dupuis pleaded guilty to one count of violation of an individual’s civil rights. Last week, Dupuis was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
The incidents involving tasing the inmates occurred in 2010, when McGee was a patrolman on the Mamou police force. Video of the incidents was released on YouTube in December last year, as McGee was engaged in a run-off election for the position of chief of police. He won the election against then-Assistant Chief Katina Richard.
At the October regular meeting, two possible candidates addressed the council. Charles Perdices, who ran for the position last year, told the council he will be running again. Shawn Duplechain, a captain in the Ville Platte police department, also said he is considering running for the position. However, civil service rules prohibit him from running for office while he is employed on the Ville Platte force.
In other business, the council agreed to propose a new ordinance concerning the use of golf carts on Mamou’s streets. There will be a public hearing on the ordinance before the regular meeting on Nov. 10, during which time the council will decide whether or not to adopt it.
The proposed ordinance would regulate the permitting and operation of golf carts and slow-moving vehicles within the municipality.
Drivers of golf carts would have to receive a permit from the town in order to drive on the city streets. In addition, the drivers would have to show they have paid a yearly premium to insure the carts, before getting the permit.
Additionally, the council accepted a property donation from James Keith Sonnier. The three pieces of property, along Sixth Street directly across from the Town Hall, is worth $50,000.
Sonnier made the donation in honor of his deceased parents, Joseph and Mae Sonnier. The property, which housed a hardware store at one time, is located between Pick-a-Petal and Guaranty Bank.