Top 10 stories of 2023: Mancuso announces retirement
Published 9:46 am Saturday, December 30, 2023
- Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso. (Crystal Stevenson / American Press)
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso announced in February he will retire when his term is complete in 2024.
Mancuso — whose Deputy Chief Stitch Guillory won the seat to replace him during the Oct. 14 election — has served nearly 20 years as sheriff and has a 40-year career in law enforcement. He began his career with the Sheriff’s Office in 1984 and ultimately served in several divisions including corrections, patrol and youth.
Mancuso was elected as Ward 3 City Marshal in 1996 and re-elected in 2002. In October 2003, he was elected sheriff of Calcasieu Parish and assumed office in July 2004. He was re-elected in 2007, 2011, and 2015 without opposition, and again after the 2019 election. He’s now serving his fifth term.
“This department is going to be here with or without me … it’s not going to miss a beat,” he said. “I’m confident that the men and women that work here, whether I’m here or not, can go on and keep doing that, because they’ve learned and they’ve gotten the best training. The people in the parish should be proud of them, not me. They’ve done everything we’ve ever asked them to do in some of the harshest circumstances, and they’ve never wavered.”
Mancuso said he is retiring without regrets.
“I hope that the public and my staff know that even in some of the toughest of times, we did what we thought was the right thing to do, and we didn’t sugarcoat it,” he said. “I always do what I truly believe in my heart and in my gut is the right thing to do.”
Mancuso said when he leaves office on June 30, 2024, the department will be in good hands.
Guillory “cares about people like I do, he cares about this community and the safety of this community like I do.”
