Congratulations to St. Martinville law enforcement leader Calder Hebert.

After wearing the “interim police chief” tag since he took office in March 2014, he was appointed police chief Monday night by the St. Martinville City Council. He is in charge of 16 full-time St. Martinville Police Department  officers, four reserve police officers, four dispatchers and two administrative employees.

It wasn’t a done deal, however, at the City Council meeting that evening in St. Martinville. Councilwoman Debra Landry introduced a substitute motion to appoint St. Martinville police officer Lance Laviolette as chief of the SMPD. There was no second to her motion, however, and the council members voted 3-1 for Hebert, with the lone dissenting vote cast by Landry.

Laviolette has been with the SMPD for 15 years, Landry said.

Hebert, a 20-year law enforcement veteran, including 10 years as a U.S. Marshal, also had supporters in the audience. One of them was SMPD officer Joseph Skipper, a 28-year veteran police officer who said later, “If they had gone the other way, I’d have stopped them. I was going to stop the show. I will always help someone who is trying to do right.”

Other well-wishers shook Hebert’s hand and expressed their backing after the meeting.

Some people in the community have been less supportive of the former interim police chief considering what happened within the past year. Hebert had a study conducted regarding requirements for the popular Newcomers Parade held in association with Mardi Gras. Results of that study showed it would take 140 law enforcement officers to provide a safe parade.

That determination eventually led to the cancellation of this year’s parade after a federal judge ruled the city’s parade ordinance was unconstitutional.

Hebert apparently has the department headed in a positive direction. He has established a chain of command, much like a military structure, renovated offices while maintaining the overall maintenance and upkeep of the department, and oversaw the purchase of new uniforms for the department’s police officers.

“The way I approached the job when I took office in 2014, tomorrow and the day after, I will approach is the same way. When I came in, I looked at this as a permanent position. The title doesn’t change that,” the new full-time police chief said.

Hopefully, the entire community gets behind the police chief.

DON SHOOPMAN

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR