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City of St. Gabriel mourning after death of police captain
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ST. GABRIEL — A day after Cpt. Devin Boutte was found stabbed to death in his home, the mayor of St. Gabriel said the city is mourning his life.
On Sunday, city officials posted on social media that this year has been difficult for the community.
Mayor Lionel Johnson said it’s been a rough year due to the loss of employees. In March, Officer Darius Faveroth died after suffering from a medical emergency.
“We lost a recently retired police administrator in April of this year. We lost an employee in our senior center in May of this year, and now we are dealing with the tragic, untimely, and devastating death of Captain Boutte,” Johnson said.
Johnson said it has been difficult to navigate the many losses the city has taken. He said with one loss after another, he is prioritizing the city workers' mental health.
“I am in the process of ensuring that all of our employees — not just the police department, but just doing a welfare check with all of our employees just to make sure that they’re doing alright,” he said.
Johnson said Boutte's unexpected death has taken a toll on the community. WBRZ spoke to residents who did not want to go on camera, and they described Boutte as a great man who was loving and caring. One neighbor even said Boutte made sure her needs were handled and he did not set them aside. Another said despite their different lifestyles, Boutte was a great person regardless of news being broken about the relationship between Boutte and his accused killer 25-year-old Warren Mitchell.
Johnson said Boutte was more than just an officer to the community.
“Captain Boutte touched a lot of people from all spectrums of life," Johnson said. "He was respected by a lot, loved by a lot. He's not a native of St. Gabriel, so to be able to come here to St. Gabriel and to be loved by everybody says a lot."
After dealing with another death in the city, Johnson said they must work to keep moving forward.
"You have to keep on moving while you're grieving. We have a lot of capable people here in the city, and why we are grieving one particular loss, the next person is stepping up. We're doing it day by day," he said.
Johnson said an autopsy will be performed on Tuesday, and then move forward with funeral arrangements.
He said the city will soon host a memorial in memory of Captain Boutte.
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