Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:23 — 65.1MB)
Lafayette City Marshal Reggie Thomas joined Discover Lafayette to discuss his mission to protect the citizens of Lafayette and to become the best marshal’s office nationally.
A 30-year veteran of the Lafayette City Police Department who worked his way up the ranks, as a detective and eventually serving as deputy and interim chief of police, Marshal Reggie was elected Lafayette City Marshal in December 2020. On January 8th, 2025, he celebrated his fourth anniversary in office. Of note, Marshal Reggie was the first African American to be elected citywide in the history of Lafayette.
The Marshal’s office is chiefly responsible for keeping the city court safe and secure, serving subpoenas to people called to court, and executing arrest warrants for people who have not complied with the law or court order. In the City of Lafayette, there are two city court judges, Judge Douglas J. Saloom and interim Judge Vanessa Harris, who was called to served upon the untimely death of Judge Jules Edwards.
Salary and benefits for the marshal’s office staff are paid for by the City of Lafayette. Everything else is funded by a percentage of criminal and civil fines and fees paid for citations and tickets. The employees are at-will employees.
“We have 32 sworn officers, as well as ten reserve officers. We have another 30 to 35 clerks that work in the building, handling the court, the tickets, the civil part,the criminal part, and the supervisors. We might have 400 people come through the door on any given day, and each person has to be searched to make sure everyone is safe.”
The City Court territorial jurisdiction extends over all territory in the corporate limits of the City of Lafayette, plus the Third and Tenth Wards of Lafayette Parish. The court handles claims for personal injury, general damages, contract, open account, and commercial paper where the amount of the claim doesn’t exceed $35,000, and small claims suits that do not exceed $5,000. It also handles landlord-tenant matters (Evictions) and violations of state misdemeanor criminal laws and/or Lafayette Consolidated Government City Ordinance violations that occur within the City of Lafayette. First time domestic violence cases also go through City Court.
Marshal Reggie mentioned the important work of the late Judge Jules Edwards, who endeavored to assist first time offenders, to keep them from getting in deeper trouble and ending up in Angola. When Marshal Reggie was elected, they started the “Renewal Program”, where participants learn to manage anger, control their behavior, and become better citizens. Upon completing the program, their efforts are recognized, and they have the opportunity to move forward with a clean slate by having their offense expunged from their record.
“The renewal program was something that I started when I first took office, along with Judge Edwards. When a first time offender gets sentenced by the judge, normally they have to do community service. With this program, they attend eight weeks of classes and we have people that have made major mistakes come in and talk to them. Maybe a guy that did 25 years in jail or was on drugs, stuff like that. So we show them things that, hey, this is where you don’t want to be at, but this is what you can accomplish if you’re doing the right thing.” Seventy juveniles have participated so far with great success.
“Most schools have zero tolerance. Now, if you get in a fight at school, you go to jail. Some of us older people remember when we were in school, you would have to go sit in a corner after a fight, but you didn’t go to jail. So now, you are arrested, you have to come to court and pay fines. I started seeing where the parents weren’t able to pay the fines, and the kids would wind up in juvenile detention. So the Renewal Program gives a second chance and the charge won’t remain on their permanent record. The kids have to be serious about the program, can’t miss any days, or be late. We did three classes last year and intend to do three more this year. We’re funded by grants.”
Marshal Reggie learned how to write grants when he worked for the city police. His office is now the only accredited City Marshal’s office in Louisiana and he was able to secure funding to offset costs of training and other requirements needed for the CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) through a $75,000 grant. “We meet the same standards that the city police and the sheriff’s office meet, who are both accredited by CALEA, We have to continue to work and make sure we meet their requirements. One of the things a lot of people don’t know is our marshals go through the same training as the sheriff’s department and the city police. The same academy.”
A new initiative of the Marshal’s office is to serve as School Resource Officers (SRO) in private schools such as Westminister, St. Pius, Cathedral Carmel, and our local charter schools.
“We have SRO officers at the schools. We are meeting needs that the marshal’s office didn’t in the past. It’s a part of the vision that I have, to allow the community to tell us what they want and need done.”
Another example of expanded services offered by the City Marshal’s Office is park police. The park police were disbanded under the past LCG administration. “Lafayette city parks were having all types of issues. People just want to go to the parks with their kids and feel safe. We partnered with LCG to provide deputies in the parks.” The City Marshal’s Parks Patrol Division now covers 30 parks spanning 1,300 acres and 10 recreation centers in the City of Lafayette.
During the recent January 2025 freeze, many homeless people, as well as those with subpar housing, found themselves vulnerable to the cold conditions. At Brown Park and Dupuis Recreation Center, “warming centers” were opened. With the first emergency plan executed under the newly established Lafayette Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP), refuge for more than 70 individuals experiencing homelessness or inadequate heating was provided and the Marshal’s office provided security to ensure the well-being of all participants. The City of Lafayette provided bus service to transport individuals to the centers, and then back and forth to St. Joseph’s Diner for hot meals. Marshal Reggie says, “It’s an opportunity to help. We want all of our citizens to be safe. In my line of duty I saw during a cold spell like this, some people didn’t make it. If you go under the house with a blanket and it’s 30 degree weather, you might not wake up.”
During Marshal Reggie’s tenure with the Lafayette City Police, he started the Community Walk. “Officers weren’t getting out of the car. So they didn’t get to know the people in the neighborhoods, the people they were policing. So we started going into neighborhoods, knock on doors, and just talk to people. I tell the story all the time…an officer said, ‘See that house right there? That’s probably the worst house in the neighborhood.’ So I said, Let’s go knock. A 75-year old lady opened the door and she was all by herself. She said, ‘They sit on the porch. I’m scared to come outside. Y’all come sometime and make arrests and I could go to the store. But right now, I’m scared to go. Nobody had ever knocked on the door to talk to her. So we cleared it up. I still have a relationship with her and purchased a tv for her about two weeks ago.”
When Marshal Reggie was elected, it had been more than 20 years since the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program had been taught in Lafayette Parish schools. DARE teaches the kids about substance abuse, but has also evolved to teach decision-making and responsible behavior skills. His office has a part-time administrator, which he is hoping to turn into a full-time position. “hey teach about drugs, fentanyl, things going on in the community that the kids need to know. And then the kids get comfortable with the DARE officer and get comfortable with the uniform.”
Lafayette City Marshal Reggie Thomas was awarded “Marshal of the Year” 2023 Annual Training Conference of National Constable and Marshals Association. Serving in law enforcement since 1990, Thomas served as patrol officer, narcotics agent, training director, homicide detective, and precinct commander. He graduated from the FBI Academy in 2011 and in January 2016 was appointed as the Lafayette Interim Chief of Police.
“I’ve learned so much through the years, and especially being a chief over at the Lafayette Police Department. I went from supervising 300 to 30 officers. We don’t handle the 911 calls and murder cases. So now I come to work, and they tell me about stuff that happened at the schools. It’s mostly stuff that makes me smile and makes me have a good day.”
A new website is coming soon for the Marshal’s office. In the meantime, note that the office has made it so much easier for citizens to pay their fines online. “You know, you used to have to come to court to pay fines, and we would have so many people in long lines. Now you can pay online. A lot of times we can call you and say, hey, the judge, just got a warrant out for you, but you have an opportunity to pay right now online. 50% of the people now pay online.”
We can’t thank Lafayette City Marshal Reggie Thomas and his accredited staff for all the work they do for our community! Thank you Marshal Reggie for your commitment to excellence!
