Richard fired from Mamou Police Dept.

MAMOU -- The termination of Mamou Police Officer Katina Richard at Wednesday’s Mamou Town Council meeting has brought a feeling of justice served to a Mamou family that says the officer lied about reporting a crime to the district attorney.
Pauline Hebert of Mamou said, “She said she did her job, and she didn’t do it. She’s sitting there trying to defend herself saying she has ‘21 years experience’ and ‘Lets not lie’ and ‘Lets not’….You did everything to us for two years while this man went free.”
Hebert said that in 2013, her then seven-year-old son was raped by Wilson James Vallery, formerly of Mamou. In June 2014, Hebert reported the incident to Richard.
“I kept in contact with her, when she would answer her phone,” Hebert said. “She was supposedly getting this all together. Meanwhile my son and I went to Hearts of Hope (an organization that works to reduce the trauma experienced by child and adult survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault). I would call to ask her how it was going, and she would tell me she was getting ready to send it to the DA’s office.
“After a while, I just quit calling. I met up with her in church, walking into the church house. I didn’t tell her anything but ‘Hi’ and didn’t ask her a question. She told me she sent the paperwork to the DA’s office. So I waited and waited and still nothing.”
Hebert said that Vallery then began contacting her on her phone through social media, and she reported those incidents to Richard.
“I sent it to her phone and nothing,” Hebert said.
At the end of April, Hebert said she received information that an ex-girlfriend of Vallery’s had taken out a restraining order against him, and that renewed the mother’s hope that something would finally be done with the information she had reported to Richard.
“When I got that, I thought, it’s worth it to try to get (my son’s ) paperwork,” she said. “They are not doing anything with it and maybe I can give it to somebody and see if they can get him on molestation charges and get him out of here.
“When I called over there (at the police department), Stephanie told me to call Miss Phyllis (Soileau). She (Soileau) asked me what it was all about, and I told her I would like to get (my son’s) file. This happened to him two years ago, we reported it, it happened in 2013 and we reported it in 2014. I said they have done nothing with it. She (Soileau) said ‘Let me look into it.’”
Hebert continued, “That was May 3. By May 23, they had opened the case back up and took it to the DAs office. The DA put an arrest warrant out on him, they caught him and had him in prison on the 23rd in Evangeline Parish on the rape charge.”
In addition to two counts of first degree rape, Vallery, was also arrested on two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile and two counts of sexual battery.
“The whole point is that this woman had this two years ago, and it took 20 days for them to get him, arrest him and put him in jail and everything, and this woman had this man free for two years.”
She continued, “This man was horrible. Katina had this. She should have taken this to the DA’s office when she looked at me walking in the church house. She came to me and said, ‘I took this stuff to the DA’s office.’ She never did. It sat in her office, in a tote box under papers, files and all kinds of stuff.”
“I have nothing bad to say about Phyllis (Soileau) and (Police Chief) Brent Zachery,” Hebert added.
Hebert and several other family members attended Wednesday’s Town Council meeting to see how council members would vote on the agenda item to terminate Richard’s employment with the department.
Richard had been employed with the department for 21 years.
In the 2014 Mamou Police Chief election, Richard ran and received 484 votes while fellow candidate Robert McGee earned 421. Richard and McGee then competed in a run-off, and McGee went on to defeat Richard 580 to 496 votes.
In March, an election was held for a new chief following McGee’s October 2015 resignation. Three candidates ran for the position, and Richard and Zackery landed in a run-off. Richard received 319 votes while Zackery received 206 votes. In the run off election, Zackery received 481 votes, and Richard received 459 votes.
Zachery began the disciplinary action recommendation at Wednesday’s meeting by listing Richard’s five write ups — three regarding calling in to work and the proper procedure for taking sick time, one for not having bullets in her firearm while on shift and another for failing to follow the chain of command.
“You have five write ups and after three, we terminate,” Zachery said.
Richard stood before the council, and she and Zachery discussed at length the circumstances of the times she called in and the proper procedure for calling in, which is in the department’s handbook that Richard helped to write.
“I prepared this handbook,” Richard said.
“Then you should know what’s in it,” Zackery said.
Councilman Charles Reed also questioned her department experience.
“You are saying you have 21 years experience,” he said. “You should know this backwards and forwards.”
Council members Freddie Matthews and Robin Young and Mayor Rick Fonetnot also asked Zackery and Richard for clarifications about the write ups during the discussion before the council went into an executive session to continue their conversation on the issue.
When the council members exited the session and resumed the regular meeting and the disciplinary action recommendation, Charles Reed made the motion to terminate Richard, and Jessica Fontenot seconded the motion. The recommendation then passed unanimously.
Other items approved at the meeting were:
• All of Zackery’s personnel actions, including a promotion, hirings and the addition of reserve officers.
• The motion to consider an adoption setting requirement for the use of the Mamou Recreational Complex Facility for walking exercise activities.
• The introduction of proposed ordinance to increase utility deposits for renting residential customers.
• The motion to consider a resolution approving a grant funding application to the Office of Community Development Communtihy Water Enrichment Fund.
• The approval of The Gazette as Official Journal Newspaper for Town Legal publications and notices.