– Deputy Chief Andrew Broussard was named interim police chief in St. Martinville at a special meeting of the St. Martinville City Council this past Wednesday.
Broussard, 39, has served in the St. Martinville Police Department for 13 years, on and off.
He started his career with the SMPD in 2012, went to Carencro for a year and a half, then returned, left to drive trucks and returned in 2021.
Broussard was a deputy chief when he left in 2020, but returned as a patrol sergeant, then was promoted to investigations, then to lieutenant, and then to deputy chief.
Broussard and several other members of the police department attended Wednesday’s meeting, which was called by Mayor Jason Willis after Chief Ricky Martin opted to leave earlier than planned.
Martin announced his resignation/retirement at the June 15 City Council meeting and said he planned to make July 5 his last day before joining the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office on July 6.
But Willis said that Martin told the mayor that he was making June 21 his last day in office with his remaining days paid via unused comp days.
Willis explained the process of hiring a new chief at Wednesday’s meeting.
The city began advertising for a new police chief on June 18 and will advertise for at least a month. Once the application process is complete, the city Civil Service Board will meet to go through the applicants to find which ones are qualified for the position.
Those qualified applicants will be given a chief’s test administered by state examiners. Those who pass the test will be interviewed by a five-member hiring board.
Broussard
The members will include a representative of the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s office; Parks Mayor Kevin Kately, himself a former police officer; Floyd Johnson, a former prosecutor; Broussard Police Chief Vance Olivier; and New Iberia Assistant Police Chief Brandon Williams.
“I think we’ve got a diverse group with qualifications to sit on that board through the interview process,” Willis said.
The hiring board will then make a recommendation to the mayor as to who the city should hire, and the mayor will bring that recommendation to the
(Chris
city council for it to vote on.
The mayor recommended Broussard to serve as interim police chief with Councilwoman Carol Frederick moving to appoint Broussard and Councilwoman Flo Chatman seconding the motion.
The council voted 4-0 to approve naming Broussard the interim police chief, with Councilman Mike Fuselier unable to attend the mid-day meeting.
