Scandal from 2017 returns as force doubles SPD numbers
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
PEARL RIVER – It’s BAAAACK!
The Pearl River Police Department ticket writing “scandal” that is, as it was called in 2017 when The Slidell Independent broke the story about the department writing more speeding tickets each month than the much larger Slidell Police Department.
Whether it led to the next election defeat of former PRPD Chief J.J. Jennings or not, it was the only term Jennings served there before Jack Sessions defeated a four-man field to become the new police chief.
Sessions is now in his second term, but has suddenly found himself in the same hot seat as Jennings after The Independent was informed of the ticket situation not only returning, but being far worse now.
Additionally, the ticket writing explosion under Sessions’ direction—mostly headed by second-in-command P.R. Police Major David Dean, has also brought back a problem the Town of Pearl River has dealt with for many years in its history—a major rift between the police chief and the administration of the town.
When Jennings was chief starting in 2015, his department began writing three times, then four times as many tickets as former Chief Benny Raynor’s force.
Raynor, who served as chief for over 30 years, had a police force writing less than 70 tickets a month during his final two years. The population in Pearl River is slightly more than 2,600.
But once Jennings took over in 2015, the department quadrupled that number by 2016 when they wrote an average of 281 a month. To compare whether that is a large number or not, the Slidell Police Department, which serves a population 15 times as large as Pearl River and covers far more highways, only writes a little over 200 tickets each month.
While Jennings obviously caught plenty of heat for what his department began to do, and reduced the number to 152 a month in 2018 after The Slidell Independent story was published, Dean and Sessions have put those numbers to shame in recent years.
Sessions seemed to take a hint from the Jennings scandal when he first took office in 2019, barely ever hitting 150 tickets a month in his first term with Det. Danny Hunter in charge.
But once Dean was put in charge in 2023, the ticket writing exploded again. The Pearl River force wrote an average of 290 a month for 2023, then an unbelievable average of 448 per month in 2024.
Those numbers have not let up in 2025 as they are currently averaging 350 a month, close to double what the Slidell Police Department does.
When questioned about the total, and whether it seems like it’s too many tickets, Dean had one immediate response to this reporter: “Have you ever worked a fatality? Have you ever seen a person killed because of speeding?”
Dean and Sessions make no apologies for what they are doing, claiming it is all about making sure Pearl River is a safe place for its residents.
“We are doing this because we have to be pro-active to slow people down,” Dean said. “We have a reputation as a safe community, and it’s because we are pro-active that people do slow down.”
Sessions supported his top officer by adding, “I saw two kids go through the windshield of their car recently. We want to send the message that you shouldn’t speed in Pearl River.”
But the problem goes deeper than whether the public thinks the PRPD is writing too many tickets or not. The animosity between Mayor Joe Lee and Sessions clearly runs deep after interviewing both men.
Lee is upset because he said he receives numerous phone calls from the public who “are being told by the police that they are writing all the tickets because the Town Council and mayor aren’t giving them enough money.
“It’s very frustrating to hear that is being said because we have always funded our police very well, and have increased their budget 60 percent since 2019. Even though our town is growing, it definitely hasn’t grown anywhere close to that number since 2019,” Lee added.
“And in our view, they are writing the tickets because they know it will provide more money for them.”
When Sessions was asked about the revenue aspect of writing a lot of tickets, he and Dean both erupted and strongly responded, “we get no money from writing tickets!”
However, that isn’t exactly true, Lee said.
While the revenue from tickets does not go directly to the police department, they are positively receiving a substantial amount of additional funds from all the tickets. That is because all ticket money goes into the general fund, and once there is extra money in that fund, the Town Council and mayor decide where to put that revenue.
In 2024, the council transferred $525,000 to the police department from the general fund, then in 2025, the PRPD received an additional $400,000 from the general fund.
“They got a little less in 2025 because we needed $230,000 for some major sewer repairs,” Lee said. “So, the idea they don’t’ get money from tickets is not true. Common sense tells you that the more tickets they write, the more money goes in the general fund, and history shows you they have received almost a million dollars extra for their budget in the last two years.”
The police department was funded to the tune of $2.1 million total in 2024, then $1.8 million in 2025 due to some of the general fund money going to sewer repairs.
The Pearl River Police Department operates with five officers on their day shift.
Dean, who has 30 years of law experience under his belt, actually only works 25 hours a week for the department, since he has a full-time job with the Louisiana Department of Probation and Patrol. Yet another rumor that had surfaced was that Dean was illegally working full-time for both departments, however, Dean said that was false since he was only part-time for Pearl River.
Dean strongly supported the Pearl River chief against another charge that Sessions wasn’t in the office very much and was cutting grass during the days through his own private business, something Sessions also vehemently denied.
“Just because I carry a weed eater in my truck, people have accused me of that,” said Sessions. “I cut people’s grass sometimes for free and just try to help them when I see I can.”
Dean said that Sessions is a great person to the community, despite the criticism of tickets or anything else.
“Jack Sessions is a fair chief, and he treats people well. He has a big heart and people love him,” Dean said. “And as for this department, he always puts his men first.”
Even as the PRPD force is writing twice as many tickets as Slidell Police, Dean defended their practice of writing with no regrets for what they are doing, saying they are doing it to keep the people safe.
“We’re here to enforce the laws and protect the community,” Dean stated. “Traffic in the day for Pearl River is blowing up.”
But Lee said he is tired of the phone calls blaming his administration, including the Town Council, for reportedly underfunding the police department.
“I agree public safety is a priority, but residents are more concerned about safety in their own neighborhoods and streets when the police department has as many as three units on the interstate with three cars pulled over at one time. The residents ask me, ‘who is patrolling our streets and neighborhoods if they have three units on the interstate?” I get that question all the time and I know our council members do too,” the mayor said.
Town Alderman Virgil Phillips also said he receives many phone calls from residents complaining about the ticket writing.
“More than several residents have approached me asking why a majority of the officers are on the interstate issuing tickets instead of patrolling our streets,” Phillips said. “I agree we need public safety, but when I tell them to call the police they have told me the reaction has been less than positive.”