Josh Guillory asks Lafayette Police Chief to resign; Aguillard will fight firing

Andrew Capps | Lafayette Daily Advertiser

Incoming Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory asked Police Chief Toby Aguillard to resign Thursday in a move that could shake the department's relationship with the incoming administration.

Guillory met with Aguillard Thursday afternoon to request his resignation. Guillory's transition team leader Jim Doré could not confirm Guillory's request Thursday night, but did say a release would be coming Friday morning.

Aguillard said Thursday he refused Guillory's request to resign and would fight for his job as chief of police should Guillory choose to fire him when the new administration is seated on Jan. 6.

"Becoming the chief of police in Lafayette was a lifelong dream of mine," Aguillard said. "It's been such a great privilege to serve in that capacity, and I've enjoyed so much of this that I would never regret any of it.

"We just love it here and hope to stick around," he added.

Aguillard was hired by Mayor-President Joel Robideaux in November 2016 at the end of an arduous process to replace the previous LPD Chief Jim Craft, who retired that January.

Guillory is allowed by law to select new directors for Lafayette Consolidated Government's various departments, like Public Works and Community Development; however, state protections for police officers and firefighters prevent him from firing the chiefs at LPD and the Lafayette Fire Department without approval from Lafayette's Municipal Police and Fire Civil Service Board.

State law prevents police and fire employees, including appointed chiefs, from being fired or disciplined unless they violate any of the state's 15 justifications for discipline or removal. Those reasons include insubordination, hiring officers as a political favor, lying on an application and a number of others, none of which Aguillard has been publicly accused.

Outgoing Mayor-President Joel Robideaux said Thursday he believed Aguillard would have good grounds to fight his potential firing, which could not occur until Guillory takes office on Jan. 6.

"Every conversation I've had with multiple attorneys has been that both police chief and fire chief are civil service protected and that any changes have go through the civil service process, meaning they're not as 'at-will' as every other director is," Robideaux said.

If Guillory does fire him, Aguillard said, he would appeal to Lafayette's Fire and Police Civil Service Board to decide whether he had violated the state's provisions. The board is composed of local fire and police employees, and would be required to have a public hearing of Aguillard's appeal.

Robideaux questioned Guillory's decision and said Aguillard has "accomplished as much in his three years in Lafayette as any previous chief has done."

"I think Toby has been as strong a community asset as we've had as our chief of police as I can recall in my adult life," Robideaux said. "He's bridged gaps with all parts of the community, especially those that have had issues with the police in the past. I feel like he has made a lot of inroads and a lot of friends and started to build back the trust of the community."

Within Aguillard's first year as chief, LPD was struck by tragedy with the killing of Cpl. Michael Middlebrook in October 2017. Robideaux praised Aguillard's handling of the situation, saying that he handled it as well as anyone could have and continued to work for the department's officers.

"As tragic as Cpl. Middlebrook's death was, Toby handled it as well as anyone could," Robideaux said. "He brought the rank and file closer with the administration, and then of course worked on getting them fairly compensated this year."

LPD Deputy Chief Reggie Thomas at one point stood to be considered for the chief of police job, but the Fire and Police Civil Service Board declined to change the qualification requirements that prevented Thomas from formally applying to be chief of police.

Thomas ultimately served on the three-person panel that interviewed candidates for the job in 2016, which also included Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mark Garber and 15th Judicial District Attorney Keith Stutes.

Robideaux chose Aguillard, a former prosecutor and leader of the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office's internet crimes division, after a nearly year long search.

Guillory has already announced plans to replace Robideaux's former Chief Administrative Officer Lowell Duhon with Broussard Economic Development Director Beth Guidry.

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