COURT ORDER STOPS BCPD CHIEF MCWILLIAMS HEARING
By JOHN E. SETTLE JR.
Editor/Publisher
A court order has stopped the Bossier City Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board from hearing an appeal by Bossier Police Chief Shane McWilliams.
The order was signed on Tuesday, Nov. 30, and it enjoined the civil service board hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Dec. 1. A court hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 11, 2022, in Benton, and McWilliams’ case cannot be heard by the civil service board until after that court hearing.
McWilliams was relieved of his duties as police chief by Bossier Mayor Tommy Chandler on July 2, Chandler’s second day in office. Sgt. Chris Estes was named by Chandler as substitute chief.
McWilliams was assigned desk duties at the Bossier City Police Department (BCPD) headquarters. He refused to show up for work, and on July 6, he was suspended with pay pending an Internal Affairs investigation.
McWilliams appealed his reassignment of duties and elimination of supervisory duties to the civil service board. The hearing was set for Wednesday to rule on his appeal.
The suit was filed by the attorney for the civil service board, naming Bossier City as the plaintiff as the appointing authority for the board.
The suit alleges three grounds for the injunction.
The first was the failure of the board to comply with the Louisiana Open Meetings Law. The board sent out three notices on Nov. 30 of the Dec. 1 hearing. All three were defective.
The first notice cited the incorrect civil service board rule. The second notice cited the correct rule, but it was not posted 24 hours before the hearing. The third notice changed the time of the board hearing, and it also was not posted 24 hours before the hearing.
A second basis for the court order was the failure of the board to comply with its own rules that require five days’ notice of a hearing.
The last basis for the injunction was illness of the board’s attorney and the very short time span to obtain alternative counsel.
All three reasons cited for the continuance were totally merited, and each was a sufficient basis for the court order.
in the meantime, McWilliams gets to stay at home on full chief’s pay.
Adding to this cluster, is civil service board Rule XII Section 1 A. 4, which provides that the city may grant administrative leave with pay for a maximum of 60 days and that this time interval cannot be extended. This rule mandates that at the end of the 60-day period or the conclusion of the internal investigation, whichever occurs first, “the employee is to be disciplined or the administrative leave shall be terminated and the employee returned to work.”
In the meantime the civil service board should set a meeting after the Jan. 11 court date, provide appropriate notice and retain new counsel or get assurance that retained counsel can appear at the scheduled board hearing.