The Causeway officers who stopped Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price but did not conduct a field sobriety test after he crashed through a barrier on the Causeway and admitted he was drinking have been disciplined for neglect of duty, the Causeway Police Chief announced Friday.

Scott Satchfield

Causeway Police Chief Felix Loicano addresses the media Friday afternoon.

"The officers were wrong, I cannot make this any clearer, the totality of the facts in my opinion, the officers should have given a field sobriety test," Causeway Police Chief Felix Loicano.

Sergeant Chris Dupont was demoted to the rank of corporal. He was suspended for three working days and lost his take home car privileges.

Officer Chad Dorsett was suspended without pay for one working day. He lost his take home car privileges and had his probationary period on the force extended.

"The officers did tell me that Mr. Price had been drinking,” Chief Loicano said. “I asked the sergeant, ‘How are you going to handle this?' He gave me -- not his reasons -- but what he was going to do, and I told him point blank, “You do what you have to do.'"

Chief Felix Loicano said he took full responsibility for not looking into the situation before being contacted by the Metropolitan Crime Commission, but added: "I cannot from my bedroom, while I'm laying in bed sleeping, tell an officer, a supervisor how he should do his business."

On April 22, Price admittedly ran through a toll booth warning arm and when he was pulled over, admitted to having had a few drinks. No field sobriety test was conducted and a ticket wasn’t issued until weeks later.

"This was not a cover up,” Rafael Goyenche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, said. “This was a botched investigation in which the officers deviated from acceptable police standards and they've been disciplined as a result of it. So, not a cover up, but a mistake that is being corrected and people are being held accountable for it."