The race to replace a sheriff

At a press conference last month to announce the retirement of East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Elmer Litchfield, no one wanted to talk about the future, insisting it was a time to reflect on the veteran cop and ex-FBI agent’s long career in law enforcement.

But everyone in the room knew exactly what the news meant: it speeded up the start of the campaign to replace Litchfield. That means a hot race between Litchfield’s No. 2 man, Chief Criminal Deputy Col. Greg Phares, and Baker Police Chief Sid Gautreaux.

Each man has three decades of law enforcement behind him. Phares is the former chief of the Baton Rouge Police Department and has been Litchfield’s top deputy since 2003. Gautreaux was first elected chief of police in Baker in 1980 and before that served as a sergeant with the Sheriff’s Office.

But they face serious obstacles, both in the campaign itself as well as within the department. Phares has never run for office, and according to sources in both the Sheriff’s Office and the Baton Rouge Police Department, his sometimes-abrasive management style tends to alienate people.

Gautreaux is the chief of a department significantly smaller than that run by the sheriff, whose responsibilities also include managing the often-overcrowded Parish Prison.

Even when they square off, the election may be in dispute.

Under state law, the Metro Council has 10 days from the date of Litchfield’s retirement—effective Dec. 1—to announce a special election to fill the remainder of Litchfield’s term, which expires June 30, 2008. Phares will serve as interim sheriff until the election by virtue of his current job as No. 2 man.

According to state Commissioner of Elections Angie LaPlace, the Metro Council can choose one of two dates for a 2007 election: March 31 or Oct. 20.

The next regular election for sheriff is already on the Oct. 20 ballot, which opens up the possibility that voters may have to cast two ballots that day for sheriff—one to fill Litchfield’s unexpired term, the second to elect a new sheriff.

The announcement of Litchfield’s retirement came just three weeks after 225’s sister publication online, Daily Report, revealed that Litchfield was in the nursing home unit of Lakewood Quarters Retirement Community on Summa Avenue. At that time, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Fred Raiford claimed the 79-year-old sheriff was at Our Lady of the Lake hospital receiving physical therapy following a hernia surgery in September.

Although rumors of Litchfield’s poor health have been circulating for at least two years, Phares has long insisted that the sheriff would not leave office before the end of his term.

All the rumor and speculation ended at Litchfield’s press conference. “I very much wanted to complete my term of office,” Litchfield said through a statement read by his son, Gary Litchfield. “Unfortunately, the recent decline in my health has made it very difficult for me to fulfill my duties.”

Gautreaux said that in fairness to the position and to the public, he thinks the Metro Council should set the special election for the earliest possible date. He and his supporters, however, are prepared for whatever the council decides. “We’re ready whether the election is held in March or it’s held in October,” Gautreaux said. “We’re ready to roll.”

During the press conference at which Litchfield announced his retirement, Phares called the outgoing sheriff, whose law enforcement career spanned more than 50 years, a living legacy. “Nobody in Baton Rouge will ever equal his career,” Phares said. “Today begins the post-Litchfield era.”

One of Phares’s first tests as interim sheriff may be how he handles a simmering scandal in the sheriff’s motor pool. One lieutenant has already been fired, and a sergeant was threatened with demotion and transferred to the Parish Prison. According to sources familiar with the situation, deputies at the motor pool disabled catalytic converters on at least two sheriff’s vehicles, a violation of state and federal law.

Additionally, a Sheriff’s Office internal investigation has found that as much as 20 percent of the Sheriff’s Office fleet of nearly 500 cars had illegal inspection stickers.

The deputy who reported the violations claims certain sheriff’s officials are retaliating against him with a campaign of harassment. According to his attorney, Joe Long, the deputy is seeking protection under the state’s whistleblower statutes and has filed a lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Office.