Honored Officer Had Unique Skill Set

 Honored Officer Had Unique Skill Set

BOBBY ARDOIN

Editor/Consulting Writer

Carolyn Baker-Marzette could often display the feisty side of her demeanor, but as a former police officer, she sometimes employed a different tactic, which her colleagues now acknowledge probably saved lives.

“I did not want to always try and put someone in jail, so I would sit down and talk to them about things and discuss ways that they could settle their differences,” Baker-Marzette said Thursday night when she was recognized as the first Black female police officer in Opelousas.

The presentation event, featured as a tribute to Women’s History Month, filled the Opelousas Museum and Interpretive Center meeting room beyond capacity.

Many of those attending the event were forced to stand outside in the hallway, as Baker- Marzette, who served the city for 24 years as an officer, was honored with proclamations by city officials, the Opelousas Police Department and District 6 U.S. Congressman Cleo Fields.

Officers who served with her nearly 40 years ago, remember Baker-Marzette as “a force of nature,” as well as someone who could just as well charm a potential suspect as a way of perhaps preventing a potential criminal activity.

Opelousas police chief Graig LeBlanc described Bake-Marzette as a trailblazer and someone who “led the way” for other females, who LeBlanc noted now comprise the majority of officers on the city police force.

“You were the one who broke barriers and paved the way for others and left an indelible mark,” LeBlanc told Baker-Marzette, who started her law enforcement career as desk officer, but later implored her superior officers to put her on the street. .

Baker-Marzette, who served under three Opelousas police chiefs, said most of her approach as an officer came from lessons taught by her mother, who established enduring family principles on how to live and treat others.

“My mother was the wind beneath my wings. She taught all of us to be well-dressed and well-mannered. She brought us to church and she taught us what we needed to know about life,” said Baker-Marrzette.

Before becoming a city police officer, Baker- Marzette served in the U.S. Air Force as well as working for the U.S. Postal Service.

Despite living inside different zip codes for many years, Baker-Marzette said she decided to return to Opelousas, where she developed a form of community policing where her roots were sunk.

Once she began patrolling, Baker-Marzette leaned on the experiences of more experienced officers.

That was especially true, Baker-Marzette said, when she became entwined with a tightly-knit group of officers who called themselves the Black Panthers.

“There were several of us, it was Ronnie Trahan, James Babineaux and Carolyn Baker. We were all good officers,” she said.

Baker-Marzette also remembered the impact of juvenile officer Julius Guillory and her bosses at OPD, which included Howard Zerague Sr., Howard Zerangue Jr. and Larry Caillier.

Howard Zerangue Sr., Baker-Marzette said, was probably her favorite police chief.

“I remember (Zerangue) told me once that I would be able to make a lot of my own decisions, but when I needed something, I would ask him. I thought about it and that sounded good to me and I think of (Zerangue) as the best ever,” Baker-Marzette pointed out.

LeBlanc said since becoming police chief nearly three years ago, that he has begun researching the history of the department.

“It is something that as a department gives us a sense of value about who we are. It’s also a way of bringing the community together in a positive way,” LeBlanc said.