The Chief of the Causeway Police said he would have handled a situation involving a traffic stop of Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price differently than police officers who handled the incident last month and he’s conducting an investigation.

On Tuesday, April 15, just before midnight, Causeway Police said Price, driving a vehicle owned by the city of Mandeville, crashed through a gate at the toll booth and kept going.

Police said Price’s car was pulled over at the first crossover and he was interviewed by officers.

“During the course of that interview they asked him if he had been drinking and he said yes,” said Chief Felix Loicano. “The officers did note that they smelled a faint odor of alcohol on his breath.”

Loicano said Price admitted to the officers that he had been drinking and that it was part of their report and was audible on the videotape.

State law does not require that officers give a breathalyzer test until the subject has failed a field sobriety test. The officers contended that because he wasn’t stumbling or stuttering, they used their judgment to not give him that test.

Loicano said that if he had been on duty that night, he would have given the test, given the situation.

“I have some real concerns about their lack of completing a complete and thorough report,” he said.

While not commenting directly on the case, Price said he made a mistake.

“What I said in the paper is what I said,” he reiterated. “It was an error on my part and I’m going to pay the ticket and I’m going to fix the gate. That’s the end of the story.”