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Mardi Gras 2020 is in the history books for St. John Parish. I would like to congratulate all the Krewes of Tohwahpahsah, DuMonde, and Dagé on successful rides. Several months of planning and preparation by the Krewes, the Parish, the Sheriff’s Office and outside law enforcement agencies take place to get this one day going smoothly. I am proud to say that all the planning and preparations worked out fine.

This one weekend costs SJSO about $25,000 for our department budget. The responsibilities of the Sheriff’s Office are the same as every year. We are in charge of coordinating with visiting law enforcement agencies for extra security, coordinating with railroad companies to request that trains not pass during the parade times, placing and removing barricades on the route, and escorting the floats to and from St. John Parish. And when the fun is over, we help with picking up all of the trash on parade routes. We sincerely appreciate the citizens who help us out by cleaning around their neighborhoods and businesses.

On the day of LaPlace Parades, our busiest time comes when the parades are over. There is typically traffic gridlock, vehicle accidents (some of them hit and run), calls for physical altercations and this year, a couple of drug overdoses. All of these needs are handled all while we block traffic for the street sweepers to do their part. I personally witnessed reckless drivers in cars and motorcycles, and 4 wheelers in the traffic lanes on Airline Highway. Traffic congestion swelled in areas that became impromptu car shows and block parties. And yes, I am aware that citizens were upset because officers were asking them to clear certain areas but traffic was becoming gridlocked, and with all we have to handle on that day, gatherings of hundreds of people without proper security makes the job even more difficult for officers already on overtime.

Thankfully, there were twice as many compliments as complaints about the parade. It’s not an easy task for a small town to handle. And although some would love to see the parade grow, I think we may be getting close to the maximum size parade for our parish. Still and all, we are already looking for ways to improve next year.

Next on the SJSO agenda is our 4th Annual Citizens Academy. Classes start at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 and runs until June 25, every Thursday evening for 3-4 hours each at SJSO Patrol Headquarters in LaPlace. Dinner is served before each class. You will learn about our civil department, the budget and our hiring practices as well as our patrol division, narcotics division, detective bureau, search and rescue and much more. We even have sessions of interactive police situations so you can test your own skills of law enforcement. This is the opportunity for citizens to learn all about St. John Sheriff’s Office and how and why we do what we do. I think this is one of the best programs in our entire department. Best of all…it’s free to the public. Please call Bernell Charles at (985) 359-8685 to register.

Mike Tregre is sheriff of St. John the Baptist Parish. Reach him at m.tregre@stjohnsheriff.org.