MANDEVILLE, La. -- A police officer demoted for not testing Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price for alcohol during an April traffic stop on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is appealing the decision.

WWL-TV

Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price

Corporal Chris Dupont lost his sergeant's rank after an administrative hearing. He wants Causeway Commission chairman Kyle France to review the case and conduct a public inquiry.

Causeway Police Chief Felix Loicano decided that Dupont and officer Chad Dorsett violated departmental procedure by not subjecting Price to a field sobriety test after Price crashed through a toll-booth barrier in late April. Price acknowledged he had been drinking but said he didn't remember hitting the barrier.

Loicano also suspended Dupont and Dorsett.

But Dupont's attorney says Loicano was a witness in the case. Phone records show Dupont called Loicano after stopping Price and that Loicano called his boss, Causeway General Manager Robert Lambert, before calling Dupont back.

Loicano has said he told Dupont to "dot his I's and cross his T's" because the matter would likely be scrutinized later.