Portraits of Caddo Parish Commission members hang on a wall inside Government Plaza in Shreveport, La. Photo: Emilee Calametti / The Center Square
By Darren Svan | The Center Square
A request to spend $2.8 million on new law enforcement vehicles for the Shreveport Police Department was turned down by Caddo Parish commissioners on Monday.
The measure stalled on a 6-6 tie vote. The appropriation request, introduced by commissioner John-Paul Young as ordinance 6618, will not be sent to the public safety committee for further discussion or to Thursday’s regular commission meeting, where the measure would have come up for a vote.
The ordinance would have funded 40 take-home police vehicles for Shreveport. Young estimates that it would cost $70,000 for each vehicle.
According to Young’s request, the Police Department is understaffed by 165 officers and its starting pay is the lowest among comparable municipalities in the region.
Increasing police presence is critical to deterring crime and improving public confidence in safety. Take-home police vehicles boost visibility in neighborhoods, improve officer morale and are more cost-effective, say advocates.
“I made a few phone calls … and the city of Shreveport is already in the process of purchasing 60 police cars so we don't need to bring this to committee,” said Commissioner Grace Anne Blake. “So you think we need to have 40 more police cars?”
Young said, “This is the number that I discussed with my city councilman as the total number that they were hoping to have – 60 is not the total number that they're hoping to have. They are purchasing some, and I wanted to discuss us purchasing some also, as we did in 2016.”
In April 2016, the commission provided the city with $500,000 to buy additional police units to increase officers patrolling neighborhoods.
Blake said now is not the proper time to be involved in city matters.
“I think that this ends up being politicized, and I think it's very unfair to play out on the horseshoe in this manner,” she said. "It pits us having to, during a mayoral election, talk about things that are already in process with the city and the Police Department."
Caddo commissioners Stormy Gage-Watts and Young are running for mayor of Shreveport in November.
Providing funds for the Shreveport Police Department is one way the parish – of which Shreveport residents make up 78% – can support the city’s needs, according to the ordinance.