The Youngsville Fire and Police Civil Service Board reversed discipline that had been levied against an officer in the Police Department.
The decision came in the appeal by John Davison. Davison was a captain in the department when the incident giving rise to the discipline occurred; Chief John Paul Broussard demoted him three ranks and suspended him for 90 days. After a five-hour hearing that ended close to midnight last week, the board voted to reverse that discipline.
Fire and Police Civil Service boards operate according to state law, and one of the things they do is hear appeals from police or fire employees who feel their discipline or other employment action involving them wasn't proper. In the case of discipline appeals, the boards can rule one of three ways: they can uphold the discipline; they can decide the appointing authority (the chief in this case) didn't act in good faith or for just cause and reverse the discipline; or they can decide the chief did act in good faith or for just cause but revise the discipline.
In this case, the board decided Broussard did not act in good faith or for just cause, and reversed the discipline. They restored Davison's rank and ordered back pay for his suspension.
If Broussard decides to do so, he can appeal the decision to state district court. At that level, the Court will decide if the board acted in good faith and for just cause.
We reached out to Davison's attorney, but haven't heard back. We did talk to the board's attorney Daniel Landry about the hearing.
This case involved an exchange between Davison and Broussard during the department's handling of a June 2025 shooting incident involving a Carencro Police officer. In that case, which you can read about here, the officer and a woman were in a vehicle and the woman was shot. The officer's father, who also was a Carencro Police officer, showed up at the scene while YPD were investigating. He subsequently was arrested for his actions during that time. Both father and son were fired from the Carencro Police Department because of the situation.
The officer who handled the case was a relatively inexperienced officer, and showed his body cam footage to some superior officers and sought advice on how to handle the father's involvement. Those officers felt the father's actions required his arrest, and so the officer drafted an affidavit for a warrant which was approved by a judge, who signed the warrant.
Testimony indicated that Broussard had a phone call from the Carencro Police chief, and then instructed the investigating officer to recall the warrant, Landry said. And Davison had a conversation with Broussard about that order. At issue is what was said during that conversation.
It is Broussard's position that Davison cursed at his chief during the conversation and was insubordinate. Broussard investigated this himself and then demoted Davison and suspended him, Landry said.
At one point, Broussard testified about a previous case involving profanity and insubordination, saying he had disciplined the officer who made the comments. But Davison's attorney produced a document showing he hadn't done that, as impeachment evidence.
There's been some confusion about that, so we asked Landry about it and checked with the Secretary of State's Office.
The term "impeachment evidence," as used in legal proceedings like a trial or a civil service board hearing, refers to the "impeachment' of a witness. That usually is accomplished by producing evidence that the witness' previous testimony isn't correct. Sometimes it consists of evidence that the witness changed their story. In any event, it refers to the production of evidence that calls into question the accuracy or sincerity of a witness' testimony, Landry explained.
In that situation, it has nothing to do with removing an elected official from office. According to the Secretary of State's Office, as an elected official, the chief of police of Youngsville can only be removed from office in three situations: if that person resigns, if that person is recalled by an election of the voters in that city, or if the chief is convicted of a felony. If an elected official is convicted of a felony, they stay in office, without pay, until all appeals have run. Then they are removed.
