Mamou police chief defends his department against accusations

In response to criticism from Mamou’s mayor regarding abandoned property, Mamou Police Chief Greg Dupuis has responded, stating that it is the town who is responsible for handling issues with abandoned property and not that of the police department.

Dupuis said the town has had this ordinance in effect for over two years and cases were to be handled civilly, not criminally. He said the town has had this ordinance in place and has done very little with it.

Although Dupuis said he would be fine with writing citations for property owners who do not clean their property, he does not like the way it is currently being done. He said he is simply told who to write citations for without proper paperwork in place.

“I don’t know if these people received letters from city hall beforehand,” Dupuis said. “If I’m going to write citations, I want to make sure everything is in order first.”

Dupuis said he recently received the names of three property owners in which the mayor wanted citations written. Of those three names, he said two have had problems with the town in the past. He wants to ensure that these citations aren’t simply being requested because of personal issues with these property owners. He said his department would not be a part of “selective enforcement” of this ordinance.

“If they can show me this is being done right and there’s proper paperwork for a case, then I would be

OK with writing a citation,” he stated.

However, when discussing citations, Dupuis said that he has checked with surrounding areas and none of those municipalities are writing citations. They are handling these cases, he said, through civil procedures, which would be the responsibility of the town.

As far as the mayor’s claims that the chief and his assistant chief could be charged with malfeasance, Dupuis stated the assistant chief has nothing to do with this ordinance and isn’t even aware of its existence. Dupuis also added that with recent budget cuts to his department, he lacks a compliance officer and records clerk, which would be beneficial in this case.

Finally, Dupuis said that his department’s priorities are enforcing the law and protecting the citizens of Mamou, not writing tickets the town hall’s request.