Gonzales police chase chief, others in unmarked SUV
GONZALES — A private sport utility vehicle carrying Police Chief Sherman Jackson and six city police officers returning from a pre-Thanksgiving night out in Baton Rouge ignored attempts by fellow officers to pull them over for alleged speeding on La. 30, police reports say.
Jackson said Friday the driver, Sgt. Kenny Stell, did not stop under the mistaken belief that other Gonzales police officers were playing a practical joke on them.
“We had no clue we had done anything wrong. That’s why we thought it was a prank,” Jackson said.
In fact, a police report says a patrol officer’s radar gun showed the 2003 Ford Excursion going 65 mph in a 45 mph zone at the intersection of La. 30 and South Phillippe Avenue.
The low-speed pursuit that followed down Gonzales’ main thoroughfares around 1:37 a.m. Nov. 18 prompted four police vehicles to try to halt the unmarked SUV, with some officers making quick U-turns to give chase, reports say.
One of the responding patrol officers also used his vehicle to block the intersection of South Irma Boulevard and East Cornerview Street and threw down spike strips, reports say.
But the Excursion reached City Hall on South Irma south of the attempted blockade and pursuing police officers realized who was inside, the reports say.
The incident did not result in a speeding ticket for Stell or a check of his blood-alcohol content, police reports indicate, but did lead to joshing at City Hall.
Three officers in the SUV got out and approached the lead patrol officer’s vehicle, laughing because they thought the patrol officers were giving them an escort.
“Man, y’all ain’t got no life,” the patrol officer reported an ‘Officer Delatte’ as saying to him after the patrol officer said he did not realize who was inside.
An investigation did follow and resulted in a verbal reprimand for Stell and institution of a policy that officers must always stop when fellow officers try to pull them over in Gonzales, the police chief said.
“I was just as fooled as he was. I can actually understand why he did what he did,” Jackson said.
The incident started after the officers had gotten off Interstate 10 at La. 30 on the return trip from a meal at
Superior Grill and another stop at Sullivan’s Steak House, both in Baton Rouge, Jackson said.
The group was marking the expected reassignment of Officer Anthony Cantrelle from their shift to another one, Jackson said.
The police chief said Stell was the designated driver and added that Stell does not drink alcoholic beverages.
Jackson said he drank two beers during the five hours the party spent in Baton Rouge that night.
Flashing police lights came on behind Stell, Jackson and other officers in the SUV after it turned north from La. 30 to La. 44, or Burnside Avenue, after the traffic light turned green, Jackson said.
The occupants of the Excursion realized the patrol officers might not be playing a prank after the vehicle turned right from Burnside onto East Worthey Road and they saw other flashing police lights ahead, Jackson said.
Officer Derek LeBlanc attempted to call the lead patrol officer on his cellphone during the pursuit at Jackson’s request, reports say. But the officer did not initially respond, only later taking a call and ending the pursuit as the Excursion reached City Hall, reports say.
The Excursion’s speed on Burnside, East Worthey and South Irma Boulevard was 40 mph, police reports say. At that speed, the Excursion was above speed limits on East Worthey and South Irma but not Burnside.
Mayor Barney Arceneaux, a former police chief of Gonzales, said he talked with Jackson about the incident Friday.
“It’s an unfortunate situation, and it’s unfortunate that it took place. There’s no doubt that they should have stopped,” Arceneaux said in a prepared statement Friday.
“Any time you’re being pulled over by the police, you should stop,” the mayor said, adding Jackson does a good job as police chief overall.
In addition to Jackson, Stell, Cantrelle, LeBlanc and Delatte, two other officers in the Excursion were identified in reports only by their last names: Officers Dufrene and Pedescleaux.