The Church Point Police Chief is sanctioning himself. Dale Thibodeaux asked the council to suspend him but was only allowed to write himself up.
The town attorney, Brad Andrus said no one, including the mayor, has the power to suspend the police chief.
“I turned my back 4 or 5 times. She could have shot me, shot one of my officers,” Thibodeaux said.
The Chief says he did not follow procedures he personally wrote.
“I’m not above that. If I reprimand myself for violating these policies. To me, in their eyes, it shows me as a better human,” He added.
Thibodeaux made a traffic stop that led to three arrests. Two men and one woman were apprehended. The chief decided since he is a man, not to search the woman. He put her in handcuffs and into another officer’s unit. When they arrived at the station for booking a loaded gun was found in that woman’s waistband.
“When I found that out, my heart fell. Because not only could I have gotten hurt, I could have hurt some of my employees. I could not have lived with that,” the Chief said.
When asked why the woman did not let officers know she had a gun, Thibodeaux said, “I’m not sure, but I don’t fault anyone but myself. I don’t even fault her.”
Last week, Thibodeaux went before the city council and asked to be suspended. That didn’t happen. Instead, the council told him to write himself up and it would be included in his personnel file forever.
“I hold all my guys, and I ask they hold themselves higher, and be professional,” Thibodeaux added.
