News Briefs
February 16, 2016
Roman Antoine Guidry
February 17, 2016
Although this year’s Carnival season began with a shootout, local police in the area say the rest of the festivities were not eventful for their departments.
Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes had 28 parades over the season. Police departments across the Bayou Region said that the parades this year were “quiet,” with one notable exception.
That exception was a Jan. 31 double shooting during the Krewe of Shaka parade in Thibodaux. Two men from Napoleonville, allegedly settling a dispute from before the parade, opened fire on each other on the parade route. No other victims were hit in the exchange.
Thibodaux Police arrested the two once they were released from the hospital. Police spokesman David Melancon said his department’s officers gained control of the situation and calmed a tense situation down.
“They did a phenomenal job at securing the scene, making sure that the suspects were apprehended, and also making sure that the crowds who were kind of fearful at that point, wondering what was going on, that we communicated what was happening,” he said.
According to Melancon, TPD Chief Bryan Zeringue and Thibodaux Mayor Tommy Eschete agreed to add officers and cameras for the rest of season.
“Chief Zeringue got with the mayor, and we were able to bring in additional resources along the parade route, as well as maybe change up where people are allowed to park and stand, which kind of spreads things out a little bit,” the spokesman said.
Melancon said that after the shooting, his department had no major incidents, which has been the norm in recent Carnival seasons.
“Other than [the shooting] it was pretty quiet, other than some minor incidents, maybe a few traffic issues, maybe some minor disturbances. Nothing major other than the shooting. It’s been like that for the past several years,” Melancon said.
Officials from the Houma Police Department and the Lafourche and Terrebonne sheriff’s offices also saw little activitiy. Lafourche sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Brennan Matherne did say one driver took the wrong turn during the Krewe of Versailles parade in Larose.
“The one off the top of my mind is we did make a DWI arrest for someone that entered the parade in Versailles. In Larose last weekend, they entered the parade and they were arrested for DWI. Other than that, I don’t know of any,” Matherne said.
Maj. Malcolm Wolfe, spokesman for the Terrebonne Parish Sherriff’s Office, said his department had five arrests for disturbances over the final weekend of Carnival season. He said this year’s quiet season could be contributed to the weather keeping people away from the riskier night parades.
“Actually, this year it was colder. We had some nights where the streets were not as full compared to other nights,” Wolfe said.
Houma Police Chief Dana Coleman’s department was working the same routes as Wolfe’s, and he found the season to be quiet as well. He did not have numbers ready, but could only recall sparse arrests for minor fights or intoxication. Coleman said that the challenge of the Mardi Gras season is to have large crowds that officers are dealing with for hours at a time.
“When you’re working the Mardi Gras season, it’s different because you’re dealing with a condensed crowd,” Coleman said. “You’ve got to constantly have your head on a swivel and look for things. You get approached by a lot of stuff, from people attending the parade about various things going on.”
Melancon said the Thibodaux Police’s close work with the public in the aftermath of the shooting made for a safer Carnival season.
“It’s a family event where people come out. They invite family across the country to come down during the season,” Melancon said. “They go out to the parades, they go in their yards since the parade kind of goes through neighborhoods. They’ll barbecue and just enjoy the festivities with their families.” •
