Gary ‘Stitch’ Guillory: I feel I can make that difference

Published 9:27 am Thursday, April 20, 2023

Editor’s note: This is the last in a series of three stories profiling the candidates for Calcasieu Parish Sheriff.

South Lake Charles Kiwanis Club members heard from Calcasieu Parish Sheriff candidate Gary “Stitch” Guillory Wednesday. He is the third of three candidates to address the club in the last three weeks. Guillory is the CPSO Deputy Chief. A fourth candidate has been announced, and will be placed on the schedule to speak at a later date.

“The reason why you get into law enforcement is because you want to make a difference. That’s the reason I got into law enforcement, and that’s the reason why I want to stay in law enforcement,” said Guillory. “I feel I can make that difference.”

It’s a job for someone with a servant’s heart, and Guillory has been serving for 40 years.

Service started as a 21-year-old rookie for the Westlake Police Department. After getting some experience under his belt, Guillory was elected as Westlake Chief of Police.

“I served four years, and was elected for a second term without opposition,” he said.

In 2002, Tony Mancuso, who was Marshal at the time and in the running to head up the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, asked Guillory to be his Chief Deputy if elected. Guillory turned him down.

“I told him, I’ve got a good situation, good employees and I just got re-elected without opposition. I’m good right here.” Two weeks later Mancuso was back.

“I talked it over with my wife,” Guillory said. “We both thought that God had put me in the position to help people. I love the City of Westlake. I still live there today, and I will die in Westlake, but my wife and I realized as Deputy Chief, I could help even more people.”

Guillory said he left the Westlake Police Department with a heavy heart, but looking back calls it “the best decision I’ve ever made,” and marvels at what he’s learned in the last 19 years.

“Our Sheriff’s Office is great. It’s not just good. We’re a great sheriff’s office, and we owe that to you, the taxpayers,” he said.

When Sheriff Mancuso was elected, the Sheriff’s Office didn’t have much in the way of money or equipment. After Hurricane Rita in 2005, things went from bad to worse.

“We thought we may have to go to a bonding agency to borrow money to make our payroll,” Guillory said. “The Sheriff came to you as taxpayers with a plan. We didn’t know if it would fly.”

It did, and it resulted in big improvements to pay – which was only $1050 a month  – and technology.

Other agencies now call on the CPSO and its technology for help in solving crimes and keeping communities safe. Homicides have been reduced, and were down to two last year, according to Guillory.

“That’s due to the dedication of the men and women who work for the Sheriff’s Office.”

He acknowledged the toll of the pandemic and back-to-back weather disasters. Forty-seven officers didn’t have a home to go to and the Sheriff’s Office found housing because it’s hard to work when you’re worried about where your spouse and children are going to lay their heads at night, he said. The CPSO also avails itself of Employee Assistance Counseling and other programs. The department has a Peer Review program that pairs an employee with a peer, if needed, to have someone to talk to.

“We take care of our employees,” he said. “They’re valuable to us, and it is the right thing to do. We are shorthanded like everyone else. Law enforcement offices everywhere are having the same problem. It’s not every man or woman who is ready to put his or her life on the line for $40,000.”

He pointed out that the Sheriff’s Office is staffed at present except for the corrections officers needed to open the second jail, the Sheriff’s Prison. The Calcasieu Correctional Center is fully operational and has been.

He acknowledged that new trucks were recently purchased by the CPSO, and by law the Sheriff’s Office is required to accept the lowest bid. The trucks cost $41,000, $44,000 and $51,000.

Guillory said he doesn’t just give lip service to community service. He is a founding member of a new Human Trafficking Task Force. He’s been appointed to serve on the State’s Crime Victims Task Force, and he serves on the Crime Reparations and Westlake recreation board. He has also served on the Family and Youth Counseling and American Red Cross boards.

He spoke to some Calcasieu Parish residents’ most recent concerns, reporting that a teenage gun violence task force is being planned to help crack down on young people who burglar cars and steal firearms. While officers aren’t currently stationed full time in elementary schools, law officers are dropping in and checking on primary and elementary schools. The Sheriff’s Office was one of the first in the State to equip deputies with Norcan which counteracts opioids. Deaths due to Fentanyl-laced drugs continue to rise. The Sheriff’s Office is working to track where the Fentanyl is coming from and turning to the District Office to prosecute. Guillory wants to see criminals arrested, booked and convicted, as that sends a strong message to law breakers that there are consequences for actions, no “catch and release” in Calcasieu.  He said no one is above the law, and that includes CPSO employees.

The secret to being a good Sheriff, according to Guillory, is to hire people who are smarter, put them in the right places and let them do their jobs.

“I’ve been a bridge builder all my life,” he said. “I know leadership starts at the top and goes down, but usually people at the bottom take their cue from the top. I would be very honored to be chosen to lead the men and women at our Sheriff’s Office and I appreciate all you’ve done as taxpayers to make the Sheriff’s Office what it is.”