Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle. (Special to the American Press)

The Oakdale City Council unanimously expressed a vote of no confidence in Police Chief Chad Doyle and in his ability to effectively serve as police chief, calling for his immediate resignation

The decision stems from a federal investigation into an immigration visa fraud scheme, in which Doyle — along with Oakdale City Marshal Michael “Freck” Slaney — were among five individuals indicted. The indictment against Doyle includes charges of conspiracy, six counts each of visa and mail fraud, and money laundering, related to falsifying police reports for financial gain.

Mayor David Vidrine said the council is fully cooperating with federal and state investigators and has requested that authorities look into other matters to “clarify, answer and uncover” additional information.

During a special meeting Monday, the council entered an executive session to discuss the city’s legal options and ramifications under Louisiana’s Lawrason Act. Vidrine noted the mayor and city council have limited authority over an elected police chief under the law.

“If he was appointed, there would be different options available,” he said.

Doyle could potentially be removed through a recall petition, a lengthy process initiated by voters.

“He has to have due process and we (council) can’t be the judge and jury for that,” District 1 Councilwoman Cassandra “Shon” Allison said. “He’s basically considered innocent until proven guilty.”

In response to the recent indictments, District Attorney Joe Green presented the council with a protocol memorandum outlining which cases the Allen Parish District Attorney’s Office will and will not accept from the Oakdale Police Department.

Green explained that allegations of this nature compromise the reliability and credibility of police reports, which his office lies on for prosecutions.

“Anytime you have allegations like that it is going to compromise the reliability and credibility of police reports that my office relies upon to prosecute cases,” Green told the council. “When you have an offender that is arrested there is going to be investigatory material, oftentimes there is a victim that’s relying on that, and we have to be able to rely on the correctness of that to convince 12 people to give out justice.”

He added that his office has a duty to disclose any issues with a state’s case to the defense.

Under the new agreement, the District Attorney’s Office will not accept any case in which Doyle played a role, nor will they accept cases based solely on non-emergency citizen complaints where the officer was not present at the scene or did not directly witness the incident. Any case requiring follow-up investigation or evidence collection must now be handled by the Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Cases that will be accepted include those where an Oakdale police officer responds to an emergency in progress or directly witnesses a crime and takes immediate action.

Citizens will be directed to the sheriff’s office to report offenses and for the investigation of any cases not accepted under the new protocols.

“We are hoping in this unfortunate time this will pave the way for us to continue to have criminal justice at least with cases coming out of the Oakdale Police Department with some level of confidence,” Green said. “Level of confidence that I would feel comfortable with producing that or filing criminal charges on and having a jury review that and not having to worry about anything else.”

Allen Parish Sheriff Doug Hebert said Tuesday he has been working on collaborative efforts between the Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Oakdale Police Department, and Deputy Chief Grant Willis to ensure continued law enforcement services for Oakdale.

“We are adjusting shifts and allocating resources to maintain 24-hour deputy coverage at the sheriff’s office substation in Oakdale, primarily handling felony calls,” Hebert said. “We are confident the Oakdale Police Department can manage most misdemeanor cases typically handled by Ward 5 court.

Additionally, both agencies are developing an audit procedure for reports.

“The problem is not with the officers,” Hebert said. “The problem is with the leadership. So since he has been arrested in part for filing false reports, it necessarily taints all the reports generated in Oakdale.”

The audit will aim to validate reports and address potential issues in court, ensuring public confidence in law enforcement, he said.

“Because of what he has been charged with that becomes what’s called Brady material that the defense would have a right to bring up his indiscretions against each individual case that he had some input or ability to skew what actually happened,” Hebert said. “Not saying he would or not, but the appearance of that impropriety is going to be there in every case.”

He said the goal is to ensure that all cases, whether misdemeanor or felony, are not compromised and regain public trust in law enforcement.

“Everything is geared around and making sure there’s some public confidence that law enforcement is on their side,” Hebert said.