The Thibodaux Police Department will
soon add another layer of accountability that officers must face after using
force against civilians or crashing a police vehicle.
The department will begin using the
Lafourche Sheriff’s Office review board, which is made up of civilians,
officers and a State Police trooper who will determine if the officer involved
was at fault or in the wrong.
The board, which meets quarterly,
will hold its first meeting with Thibodaux Police May 31. The meeting is not open
to the public.
Internal Affairs head Ricky Ross,
who will chair the new review board when it examines Thibodaux incidents, said
he will bring two cases forward for review. One case involves an officer using
a Taser or pepper-spraying a civilian, and another involves an officer hitting
a sign with a police car.
Internal Affairs is a department
within Thibodaux Police that investigates reports of alleged police misconduct
and lawbreaking. The Internal Affairs head official within the Sheriff’s Office
chairs the board when examining cases involving deputies.
Thibodaux Police intends to operate
its board the same way the Sheriff’s Office does, Ross said. The chairman
presents the case to the board, which can ask questions and review the report.
Then they vote on whether the officer was at fault, and what level of fault:
simple fault, the most minimal; negligent fault; and reckless fault, the
harshest level.
The police chief then determines the
level of punishment required, Thibodaux Police Chief Scott Silverii said. In
any case where an officer is at fault, the officer will receive training
specific to the subject in which he or she erred.
Silverii said he contacted Lafourche Sheriff Craig Webre about
possibly teaming up with the board and Webre agreed.
Ross plans to bring a Thibodaux police captain, lieutenant and
the head of the department’s police support services to review board meetings.
After an officer uses force on the job or gets in a car crash,
the officer involved must file a report and a supervising officer must review
the actions, Silverii said. State Police usually handle the crash report after
a Thibodaux Police officer gets into a wreck. That will continue while the
review board is in place.