Very interesting story on the former Lafayette Police Chief ("The Rise and Fall of Randy Hundley," June 28). Suffice it to say that I am certain of a couple of things. Perhaps more important than anything else, the Lafayette Police Department is overly political and somebody needs to make some serious changes to let professional law enforcement do its job. Our community may be quite surprised at the extent to which police administration is subject to constant involvement of City Hall. This includes many minor matters as well as the administration of personnel and disposition of internal affairs findings. Your article pointed out just a fraction of the kind of politicizing that our professional cops have to tolerate, and I hope that Lafayette will take the time to address that and get the politicians out of the minutia in the city police department.
I believe that as this matter unfolds people will see that the administration of our police force is rife with political maneuvers and that the real tragedy is the penalty that imposes on professional officers who spend a career trying to make Lafayette a safe place and better place to live. We can't afford to have law enforcement play politics, and somebody in the administration needs to step up and put a stop to it, rather than trying to take advantage of it.
As for my client Mike Lavergne, I am anxious to have the time to present his side of this story in the proper forum, and I believe people will have a better understanding of why I have these views. [Police officer Lavergne was indicted by the grand jury that also indicted Hundley, and charged with intercepting or attempting to intercept oral communications and conspiracy to commit illegal wiretapping. ' Ed.] I see no need to make any assertions for Mike at this time. I thinks the facts will be compelling enough, and will support my contention that he is one of those professionals who has suffered because of the politics poisoning what should be a purely professional law enforcement agency.