Could Church Point’s mayor require its elected police chief to report police vehicle trips?

Plain-English summary

Church Point adopted a rule requiring trip reports when town vehicles left the town limits, including odometer readings and the trip's purpose. The police department did not comply, and the mayor asked whether the rule could be enforced. The AG drew a line: the mayor could require the elected police chief to report on vehicle use, but the mayor and aldermen could not directly order the chief's personnel to file those reports.

The opinion said the elected chief controlled the police office, equipment, and staff in day-to-day operations. Separately, La. R.S. 33:404 let the mayor require a municipal officer to make written reports to the board on matters concerning that officer's office.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could the mayor demand trip reports directly from police officers?

No. The AG said that would interfere with the elected chief's authority over police personnel.

Could the mayor require the chief to give the aldermen vehicle-use reports?

Yes. The opinion said the chief, as a municipal officer, could be required to make written reports on office matters under La. R.S. 33:404.

Did an elected chief have independent control of police vehicles?

The AG said the elected chief had inherent day-to-day control of police equipment and personnel. That did not eliminate the mayor's separate statutory power to require a report from the chief.

Background and statutory framework

The AG applied La. R.S. 33:423 and the cited case to the elected chief's supervisory authority. It then applied La. R.S. 33:404 to the mayor's power to require written reports from municipal officers. The result depended on directing the request to the chief rather than directly to subordinate officers.

Citations

• La. R.S. 33:423 (elected chief's operational authority).
• La. R.S. 33:404 (mayor's authority to require officer reports).
• Cogswell v. Town of Loganport (chief's inherent powers).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/06-0148

Original opinion text

June 26, 2006
Opinion No. 06-0148
71 Municipalities
77 Officers

La. R.S. 33:404
Mayor Roger Boudreaux
Town of Church Point
A Mayor cannot interfere with the
inherent authority of an elected chief of
102 Church Blvd.
police but may require the chief of
Church Point., LA 70525
police report regarding the use of the
town’s vehicles.

Dear Mayor Boudreaux:

This office is in receipt of your request for an opinion of the Attorney General regarding a policy recently adopted by your board of alderman. You advise in your letter that on January 09, 2006 the Church Point’s Board of Alderman adopted a policy which stated that when any vehicle owned by the town assigned to any town department leaves the town limits, the operator of the vehicle must submit a trip report including the odometer reading and the purpose for the said trip. You further advise that all departments have been in full compliance except for the police department. You question whether the policy may be enforced against the town’s chief of police and his personnel.

As you advised in a recent telephone conversation, the town’s chief of police is an elected position. An elected chief of police has, pursuant to La. R.S. 33:423, the inherent power and authority to supervise and control his office, equipment and personnel on a day to day basis. Cogswell v. Town of Loganport, 321 So. 2d 774 (La. App. 1975.

Our office has repeatedly observed that a chief of police has the inherent power or authority to supervise and direct the administration and day to day operation of the police department. In Atty. Gen. Op. No. 02-39 our office held that, because of an elected chief of police’s inherent power to supervise and direct the administration and day-to-day operations of the police department, a mayor cannot require police officers to make copies of citations they write and have them turned into the town clerk before the chief of police has seen them.

However, while a mayor and board of alderman may not directly order the chief of police’s personnel to provide the requested information, our office has previously held that a mayor may require a chief of police to make written reports to a board of alderman on any matter pertaining to his office. In Atty. Gen. Op.

Page 2

Opinion No. 06-0148
Mayor Roger Boudreaux
Town of Church Point
Page No. 2

No. 96-292, the question was asked whether an elected chief of police was required to keep a log of odometer readings and give the council the destination and the purpose of such trips. That opinion held that the mayor may require a municipal officer to make written reports to the board of alderman on any matter pertaining to his office. That opinion cited La. R.S. 33:404, which provides that a mayor may require a municipal officer to exhibit his accounts or other papers and to make reports to the board of alderman, in writing, on any matter pertaining to his office.

It is therefore our opinion that while the mayor and board of alderman may not directly require the elected chief of police’s personnel to submit trip reports and odometer readings, the chief of police may be required to submit such reports in accordance with the provisions of La. R.S. 33:404. Should your have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact this office.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: ___
CHARLES H. BRAUD, JR.
Assistant Attorney General

CCF,Jr/CHB,Jr./ad

Page 3

Opinion No. 06-0148
Mayor Roger Boudreaux
Town of Church Point
Page No. 2

OPINION 06-0148

71 Municipalities
77 Officers

La. R.S. 33:404

A Mayor cannot interfere with the inherent authority of an elected chief of police but may require the chief of police report regarding the use of the town’s vehicles.

Mayor Roger Boudreaux
Town of Church Point
102 Church Blvd.
Church Point., LA 70525

Date Received:
Date Released: June 26, 2006

CHARLES H. BRAUD, JR.
Assistant Attorney General