Youngsville Police Chief Rickey Boudreaux on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in the 15th Judicial District Court against the City Council over its plans to investigate him.
Boudreaux, through his attorney Pat Magee, is asking a judge to declare two Youngsville City Council resolutions that authorized the mayor and city attorney to conduct an independent investigation of the police chief null, void and without effect. Boudreaux alleges in a petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief that the resolutions violate the Lawrason Municipal Corporations Act, which limits the authority of the mayor and council over an elected police chief.
The City Council unanimously approved a resolution during a special meeting March 30 authorizing the mayor and city attorney to secure an independent investigation of the police chief from the time he was sworn into office in January 2015 through the present day. The council unanimously voted to table another resolution during a regular April 13 meeting that would allow the city attorney to obtain a law firm for an independent investigation of the police chief.
Boudreaux argues in the petition that the first resolution does not state what is being investigated and at no time before or after passing the resolution was he informed of "specific allegations warranting any investigation of such breadth and scope."
"The expansive nature of the Resolution would allow the Youngsville City Council through a third-party law firm to impermissibly 'investigate,' or manage the day-to-day operations of the Youngsville Police Department, while usurping control of the elected Police Chief in violation of the Lawrason Act," the petition states.
Boudreaux alleges that the "over-reaching wording" of both resolutions would cause immediate and irreparable harm to the elected police chief by subverting the powers vested in the elected office. The police chief would be left with "no legal recourse" if the City Council is permitted to act in furtherance of either or both resolutions, the petition said.
The police chief is asking a judge to preliminarily and then permanently prevent the City Council from enacting the resolutions that authorize the investigation.
Magee said he advised his client to file the lawsuit ahead of the regularly scheduled May 11 City Council meeting when the council is expected to reconsider the resolution tabled at last month's meeting.
"We didn't know what the City Council would do," Magee said. "And we couldn't get any reassurances on what direction they were going to move."
Youngsville City Attorney Wade Trahan declined to comment for this story, except to say he's going to work with Magee to schedule deadlines with Judge Kristian Earles, who has been assigned to the case.
City Council Member and Mayor Pro-Tempore Matt Romero was surprised to learn of the lawsuit.
"Chief Boudreaux has been vocal about his openness to an investigation and that he has nothing to hide, which I do hope is the case," Romero said. "I don't know why he would want to stop an investigation we're trying to have performed when he says in public that he's open to having it done."
During the March 30 special meeting, Boudreaux said he had no intention of taking administrative leave or resigning from his elected position. He also said he welcomed an investigation and would fully cooperate with officials.
The Youngsville City Council agreed to investigate the police chief and his agency after public outcry over the handling of a November crash involving a former councilwoman who may have received special treatment.
The council decision came days after a March 26 Acadiana Advocate story detailing how former Youngsville Councilwoman Kayla Menard Reaux called Boudreaux from the scene of a Sugar Mill Pond crash and left without receiving a citation or sobriety test. Reaux announced her resignation on March 30 from the elected position she had held since 2021.
This isn't the first time a city governed by the Lawrason Act has launched an investigation into an elected police chief. In 2021, after allegations of sexual harassment by former Broussard Police Chief Brannon Decou were made public, the Broussard City Council unanimously voted to investigate Decou.
Decou took administrative leave during the investigation and ultimately retired from the elected position he held for 20 years. After the investigation was complete, the Broussard City Council unanimously voted to fire former appointed Assistant Police Chief Chris Galvez for failing to pursue employee complaints and causing a lack of confidence within the department.
Magee said that situation was different than what is happening in Youngsville because Decou knew the scope of the investigation and what it would entail.
"Can any city council investigate an elected chief?" Magee said. "We're going to have to flesh that out. I don't believe a city council can just say they're going to hire a law firm to investigate the chief. For what?"