LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)- Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mark Garber has issued a response to what he calls “inaccurate information” in a statement letter sent by the Police Association of Lafayette.
The police union has publicly criticized proposed cuts to Lafayette’s Park and Recreation Department. It also claims that the LPSO is receiving funding for the parish correctional center that isn’t fully in operation due to COVID-19 health safety precautions, while the police department and the fire department are facing financial cuts.
You can read the LPSO’s full response below:
In reference to the Police Union’s written statement, we want to take a moment to respond to some of the inaccurate information they are disseminating.
1. “Transfer of millions of dollars away from in need areas of LCG to the Sheriff”. As referenced by the Union release, the Sheriff’s Office is “self-funded through taxes and other revenue sources”. That includes the money they are referencing because it is specifically earmarked for courthouse and jail expenses. To clarify it further, the money does not go to the sheriff, but is instead kept by LCG in a contractual services account so they can pay operational expenses directly.
2. Late last year, Lafayette Police received a $3.8 Million pay increase for everyone within the Department and an additional $2 Million in projected overtime. It was widely reported at the time, that this pay increase was “unsustainable” and they would be facing cuts within the department if it were to pass, and it did. It was also reported cuts would likely be required in other departments within LCG to help pay for those pay increases.
3. “Sheriff Garber isn’t even allowing the overwhelming majority of criminals to be booked into the jail”. Due to COVID-19, all people booked into the jail must be isolated until we are able to establish it is safe for them to be admitted with the remainder of the population. The Louisiana Department of Corrections is not allowing transfer of inmates between detention facilities to minimize the spread of COVID. These precautions are happening in every parish and require us to be ever so vigilant about who we receive in our facility. Since we do not have the ability to transfer inmates and we must have space to detain people who are a danger to others, we are working with the administrations of each law enforcement agency within our jurisdiction to help with the process. For example, Lafayette Police Department has booked 231 individuals (March 16 to July 7, 2020). All the agencies within the parish have booked a total of 622 individuals during that same time period. Our concern has to be for public safety both inside and outside our facilities.
4. “Improving showers” The Lafayette Sheriff’s Office is one of the largest stakeholders in the parish when it comes to the safety of the people who live, work and visit our community. With that said, we are also responsible for the safety and health of our employees and even inmates who are under our care, custody and control. Every year we have significant maintenance projects that are required to keep our correctional center running. The shower maintenance project is just one of those. We have approximately 35 showers that are used to service the entire inmate population.
5. “Sheriff Garber has already begun speaking of his intentions to dismantle the civil service system”. The Sheriff’s comments on this topic have been in line with much of the police reform debate sweeping the nation. He has made it abundantly clear that Law Enforcement Agency heads and administrations should have the authority to hold individual officers accountable for their actions. Many people across the country have made the connection that some of these polarizing use of force incidents occur in jurisdictions with civil service policies that make it nearly impossible for administrators to fire employees due to serious or numerous professional conduct complaints. Shame on those who are not intellectually honest enough to realize that public safety is our number one concern, and that civil service rules have to be adjusted in order to facilitate meaningful police reform.
