NEW ROADS - The New Roads City Council chose not to address the controversies surrounding the city's Police Department during its meeting Tuesday night.

The police department has been under scrutiny after a series of reports by the WBRZ Investigative Unit.

New Roads Mayor Theron Smith declined an interview with WBRZ, but residents like Jonathan Stoute say it's very frustrating that the council didn't speak about it.

"There's no transparency. There's no accountability to us at all," Stoute said.

In February, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office arrested New Roads Police Officer Quincy Lathers for allegedly selling drugs to a confidential informant.

Days later, New Roads Police Chief Louis Hamilton resigned. He had been the city's third police chief since 2024.

A week after that, Assistant Chief John Chambliss resigned. Chambliss had been the subject of the WBRZ Investigative Unit in October 2025, after he allegedly shot the Iberville Parish Assessor's son while checking on a reported disturbance.

"We made it apparent to the Mayor that during the shooting incident with Chambliss, there was no transparency, there was no body cam footage. We were given the run around by the Mayor. The Sheriff's office," Stoute said.

Last week, a man in New Roads announced he was suing the police department after being arrested for illegal possession of a stolen gun, which it was later determined was lawfully his.

"We've got cops that have sold their unit-suppressed weapon to a pawn shop. We've got officers that are selling drugs on the streets," Stoute said.

Residents told WBRZ they feel the council has the responsibility to address these issues.

"They do the ultimate final call on this stuff, so where we are in a litany of two to three weeks is they literally are showing the public that they don't have a plan. They're not correlating together as they should be."

"I think anything that comes up with New Roads, I think the city of New Roads should address it, and not try to avoid it," New Roads resident S. Delaney said.

It was not until after the meeting that Councilman Kirk White, after being asked by WBRZ, spoke about the situation with the police. He declined an interview, but said that the city would have a solution to the problem shortly.

Mayor Smith also said the city's going through applications now for a new police chief.