Gov. Landry appoints interim Mayor & Police Chief for St. George

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The governor’s office released the following statement with appointment details:

Today, Governor Jeff Landry announced the appointment of the Interim Mayor and Chief of Police for the city of St. George.

“Chief Morris and Mayor Yates have the experience needed to fill these roles—especially during this important time of transition. I look forward to the work they will do to ensure St. George is a safe and thriving community,” said Governor Jeff Landry.

“I am extremely humbled to be appointed by Governor Landry to lead this newly created city as the interim Mayor. Our goal will be to ensure a timely transition that will set up the City of St. George for long term success,” said Mayor Dustin Yates.

“I would like to thank Governor Landry for this appointment and trusting in me. I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve as the first Chief of Police for the City of St. George. I have called this community home for the past 40 years. I am excited to bring my 34 years of law enforcement experience to serve the citizens of St. George. I am committed to working collaboratively with our residents, business owners, Sheriff Gautreaux and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, as well as the community leaders to ensure St. George is a safe, welcoming, and thriving city for all,” said Chief of Police Todd Morris.

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Mayor Dustin Yates

Dustin Yates age 44. Born and raised in New Orleans where he attended and graduated from Jesuit High School. He continued his education at the University of New Orleans and graduated in 2002 with a B.A. in Education. He taught and coached in public school for four years before entering the fire service with the St. George Fire Department. He is currently serving his 19th year with the St. George Fire Department where he held the positions of Firefighter/Operator, Lieutenant, and Chief Administrative Officer. He continued his education with an Associate’s Degree in Fire Science, and also graduated from the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy in Maryland. He has been involved with the City of St. George dating back to the original petition drive in 2013. He is married to Allison for 18 years, and they have two children, Avery (16) and Bennett (14). They are parishioners at St. George Catholic Church.

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Chief of Police Todd Morris

Todd Morris has 34 years of experience in law enforcement. He serves as the Chief of Crimes against Persons and Special Operations for East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. The Divisions he oversees include Homicide/Violent Crimes Unit, General Detectives, Sex Offender Registration, Crime Scene, DNA Analysts, Rapid DNA, NIBIN Technicians, Intelligence, Evidence, Homeland Security, SWAT, Mobile Field Force, Marine Search & Rescue, EOD, and Aviation. Major Morris began his career with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office. He is a graduate of the Louisiana State Police Basic Police Academy, LSU Law Enforcement Institute, Advanced Homicide Investigations, SWAT Commander, and numerous other law enforcement schools. He served eight years as an investigator with the Louisiana Department of Justice and two years as an EBRSO reserve deputy.

Throughout his twenty-six years with the Sheriff’s Office, he served in; Uniform Patrol, General Detectives, Armed Robbery & Burglary, Homicide, and a member of both the SWAT and Maritime response teams. He was the first Commander of the Homicide/Violent Crimes Unit where he served for 8 years, which was first formed by Sheriff Sid Gautreaux in 2008. Major Morris has served on three separate multi-agency Serial Killer Task Forces, which lead to the arrest of all three suspects.

In 2019, Major Morris began serving on the FBI Rapid DNA Pilot and Implementation Committee for implementing rapid DNA testing during the booking process. In July 2022, the Sheriff’s Office was the first agency in the country to receive authority to operate a Rapid DNA program at the time of booking. Collecting Rapid DNA at the time of booking has been very successful. Major Morris is now expanding the Rapid DNA program with a new a pilot project with the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab to utilize Rapid DNA on crime scene evidence.

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