Did a city councilwoman receive special treatment during an interaction with local police who responded to a traffic incident?
That’s the question many are asking in Youngsville, La., after police body-camera footage was released of officers responded to a car accident initiated by Councilwoman Kayla Reaux.
Reaux hit a parked car last November in Sugar Mill Pond, and many of her constituents are calling her interactions with responding officers “offensive” and “rude,” yet she was allowed to leave without so much as a citation, and no field sobriety test was attempted.
In the footage, Reaux responds to a question about whether or not she’s been drinking by saying, “No. Yes. Possibly.”
When pressed again, she answers, “No.”
As she’s being interviewed by one of the responding officers, Youngsville Police Chief Rickey Boudreaux arrives.
“Do y’all know our councilmember, Kayla Reaux?” Chief Boudreaux is shown asking the responding officers. He then joins in a brief impromptu singalong with Reaux when she’s asked her phone number and responds, “867-5309,” quoting a popular hit song from the 80s.
Later, Reaux tells the officer conducting the interview, “I don’t like you. I don’t like you at all.”
Turning to Boudreaux, she says, “I don’t like him. I think he’s cocky. He needs to calm down. Be relatable.”
In light of the footage’s release, Reaux issued a public apology this week, writing, “As an elected official, I would never ask for special treatment because I am not above the law.”
Youngsville Mayor Ken Ritter also released a statement that read, in part, “Youngsville Police Department officers are career civil servants with job security that should be able to conduct themselves without fear of political pressure or retaliation.”
A special council meeting is scheduled for Thursday to “restore confidence in the integrity of the Youngsville Police Department.” You can see some of the footage, acquired by KLFY, by clicking here.
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