§385.1. Qualifications of elected chief of police

            A. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, an elected chief of police of a municipality shall be an elector of the municipality. At the time of qualification as a candidate for the office of chief of police, he shall have been domiciled for at least the immediately preceding year in the municipality except that a person who resides outside of the corporate limits of the village of Maurice may be elected chief of police. Additionally, a person who resides outside of the corporate limits of the town of Gueydan, but within the territorial limits of Ward Eight of Vermilion Parish, may be elected chief of police of the town. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to the village of Napoleonville.

            B. The elected chief of police of a village shall reside within the boundaries of the parish in which the village is located.

            C.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no person who is serving as an elected chief of police shall be eligible to qualify as a candidate for reelection to that office if the person has served as an elected chief of police for at least the one year immediately preceding the latest date to qualify for the office and has not met the requirements of R.S. 33:2345(A) and (B).

            (2)(a) A person who was elected to the office of chief of police prior to January 1, 2004, and has been in continuous service since that date is not required to meet the requirements of R.S. 33:2345(A) to be eligible to qualify as a candidate for reelection to that office.

            (b) The provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall not apply to any person who has served as an elected chief of police continuously since January 1, 1983.

            (c) The provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall not apply to police chiefs if the training required by R.S. 33:2345 is not funded in accordance with R.S. 33:2345(D).

            (3) The Law Enforcement Executive Management Institute shall establish a procedure by which any person who is serving as an elected chief of police and who has failed to meet the requirements of R.S. 33:2345(A) due to emergency circumstances may apply for an exemption from the requirements for the purpose of being eligible to qualify as a candidate for reelection to the position. If the Law Enforcement Executive Management Institute approves the exemption, the elected chief of police shall not be ineligible to qualify as a candidate for reelection for failure to meet the requirements.

            Added by Acts 1979, No. 262, §1. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 789, §1; Acts 1986, No. 322, §1, eff. June 30, 1986; Acts 1986, No. 1076, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1987; Acts 1991, No. 202, §1, eff. July 2, 1991; Acts 1999, No. 425, §1; Acts 2016, No. 73, §1; Acts 2018, No. 26, §1, eff. May 10, 2018; Acts 2021, No. 358, §1, eff. June 14, 2021; Acts 2022, No. 212, §1, eff. May 31, 2022; Acts 2023, No. 348, §1.