West bank residents vent at Tregre town hall
Published 11:45 pm Friday, June 14, 2013
By David Vitrano
L’Observateur
EDGARD – Although the brunt of the violence in St. John the Baptist Parish this year has occurred on the east bank of the Mississippi River, about 100 or so concerned residents showed up for a town hall meeting with Sheriff Mike Tregre Thursday to let him know what was on their minds.
The meeting at the West Bank Community Center in Edgard began with introductions of some of the key players in the administration.
“The men and women you see tonight are the people that are helping me,” said Tregre. “I could not do it alone.”
Tregre said he is encouraging these men and women to step up into more public roles as he continues the push to put a friendlier face on the department.
And judging by some of the comments from those in the audience, this image change cannot come soon enough.
Several commenters pointed out instances in which officers acted rudely or overstepped their rights. One man got a little more specific and asked whether it was right for officers to make those they stop place their hands on the hood of their vehicle when it was very hot. And in perhaps the most dramatic point in the evening, Kirk Bovie accused St. John officers of not only using a Taser on innocent children but also of stealing his possessions while he was incarcerated.
“Do I have good officers? Yes. Do I have bad officers? Yes,” said Tregre. “But I’m going to weed them out.”
Tregre added that in many cases the perceived rudeness may have been a product of a lack of training. He said he had to seek help from Louisiana State Police to show his officers the proper way to conduct a traffic stop, for example.
Another topic that raised the blood pressure of some in the room was seemingly forgotten cold cases.
“Cold cases seem to be left behind,” said a relative of Darryl Gorden, whose body was found by the side of a west bank highway earlier this year. “My loved one is six feet deep. Just like you love your people, we love ours.”
Another man stood up to complain about the lack of progress in his case. He was shot through the door of his trailer in St. John Parish two years ago.
“I live with a gun in my hand,” he said. “I’m running scared.”
As the conversation grew more heated, Tregre, with emotion in his voice, said, “I’ve seen enough bloodshed in the last year to last me a lifetime.”
Tregre was, of course, referring to a particularly difficult first year in office. Since he took office in July 2012, the parish has experienced a major shooting that left two officers dead and two more injured, major devastation from Hurricane Isaac and a relative explosion of homicides in 2013.
Tregre, however, seemed determined to put these experiences in the past as he detailed some of the new initiatives he is spearheading, including a program aimed at reducing recidivism, upgrades to the department’s radio system, the procurement of an armored vehicle, a bar code program to streamline checks on local businesses and increasing officer visibility.
Referring to the latter, he said, “I don’t know if that’s the silver bullet.”
He also had complimentary words for the residents of the west bank, who often provide numerous tips to help the department solve crimes there.
“We had two homicides on the west bank. Both were solved,” he said. “I wish I had this kind of cooperation on the east bank.”