A group of Opelousas residents have requested a recall petition for the city's chief of police.
Rachel Reed, Andrew Jones and a handful of other Opelousas residents have requested a recall package from the Secretary of State's Office to petition a recall election for the Chief of Police Graig LeBlanc.
"The reason I want to recall the chief of police is because he's violated ethics within the department. It is considered fraternization with a subordinate," Reed said Friday morning outside Opelousas City Hall.
LeBlanc declined to comment on the possible recall.
Upon arrival, Reed has 180 days to capture 3,700 signatures, or 33.3% of registered voters, to begin an official recall election in Opelousas. Reed has canvased for local candidates and feels confident she will obtain the required signatures, she said.
The reason for the recall goes beyond unethical behavior. LeBlanc has not done enough to tackle gun violence in the city, she said.
In Opelousas, nearly all Black residents are impacted directly by gun violence or know someone that has been, Reed said.
Recently, an Opelousas City Councilperson Chasity Davis' brother was killed in an act of gun violence.
After LeBlanc's election, response times to shootings in high-crime neighborhoods has slowed and shootings occur once or twice a week in the city, which was not the case before LeBlanc, she said.
Opelousas does have a high rate of violent crime, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2022, when LeBlanc was elected, 337 violent crimes were reported by the Opelousas Police Department. Lafayette reported 582 violent crimes but is nearly eight times the population of Opelousas. Lafayette had double the homicides of Opelousas in 2022 but caught suspected killers at higher rates with a 36% "clear rate" compared to Opelousas' 18%. That clear rate was much tighter in previous years, sometimes a 100% clear rate, until 2022 when the gap grew much larger.
Reed asked Opelousas Mayor Julius Alsandor and council members to remove LeBlanc from office or convince him to resign from his position, she said. The mayor or council has no power to remove LeBlanc from office since his position is elected rather than appointed, according to the Lawrason Act, which governs the town.
In a Dec. 22 shooting, LeBlanc and his wife, a sheriff's deputy, were shot by another police officer, with whom Leblanc admitted having a relationship. The shooting should be handled by an outside agency, Reed said. While she approved of St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz, she believes his office should not be allowed to investigate a crime between former and current employees at the sheriff's office.
No complaints or disciplinary actions have been lodged against LeBlanc for excessive force, public records show. LeBlanc has never been accused of sexual harassment by a coworker. In 2007, a resident complained LeBlanc groped the inside of her thigh during a frisk after LeBlanc witnessed her flick an unknown item onto the ground.
The Opelousas Police Department's handbook does not make any mention of sexual relations with a subordinate and its consequences in their sexual harassment policy, public records show.
The only times LeBlanc was reprimanded at the Opelousas Police Department were for arriving late to shifts, putting the American flag out too early and refusing orders to complete "building check slips" because, "I (LeBlanc) didn't feel like it," a notice from former Chief Larry Caillier to LeBlanc said.
The actions of the chief of police and the violence inflicted on the residents of Opelousas made Reed lose confidence in LeBlanc and she believes many residents feel the same, she said.
"When I get on these streets to get these signatures, this recall will be successful and Graig LeBlanc will be gone," Reed said.
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