EVANGELINE PARISH — This week, the Police Chief of Turkey Creek Shawn Eckhart resigned.
In a social media post on January 18, 2021, Eckhart announced his formal resignation as Police Chief of Turkey Creek. His reasons for leaving the position were explained in his lengthy post on Monday.
Eckhart explains his frustration with other elected officials in the Village, highlighting budgeting issues within the police department.
"Prior to assuming the position as Chief of Police, this department’s budget was in the red. Taking money from the water department to fund the Police. Eleven months later, the Police budget is well in excess of $150,000, $50,000 from the Care’s Act. Attend the Town Meeting on January 19, 2021 and hear for yourselves. These elected officials turned down a program, which would have benefited the jurisdiction by at least $250,000 annually," Eckhart said in a post.
He stated that a lack of professionalism and elected officials lack of knowledge of running a Police Department led to his decision to resign.
Evangeline Today reports that during a meeting on Tuesday, Mayor Phillip Cavins stated he and Eckhart had a meeting prior to last month’s council meeting about a change in direction within the department.
At the meeting on Tuesday, the paper reports that after meeting in executive session the council named assistant chief Steve Ardoin as chief of police. They report that Ardoin will serve as acting chief pending his promotion becoming permanent following a public hearing on February 16.
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