GONZALES - The Gonzales City Council's executive session was held in the open Monday evening as they discussed Gonzales Chief of Staff Wade Petite's recent crash that happened while he was driving a city-owned vehicle. 

"I'm the employee, and I want this done publicly," Petite said. "Let's do this publicly, where everybody can see."

In a phone call with WBRZ, Petite said on April 14, he rolled backward into an Entergy vehicle and left the area after seeing the other car was not damaged and speaking with both the driver and passenger to make sure everyone was okay. 

Petite said he drove home and contacted the mayor. Gonzales Police officers arrived at Petite's home that evening and issued him a summons for a misdemeanor hit-and-run crash. 

On Monday evening, the Gonzales City Council convened for a special executive session to discuss the crash, which some members say was handled improperly. Petite asked for the meeting, which is normally held behind closed doors, to be in public. 

Councilmembers debated with Petite for nearly an hour on whether or not he followed city procedure by leaving the crash site and not getting a drug test immediately after the wreck. 

According to a city human resources employee, during normal business hours, a supervisor drives the employee to get tested immediately. Human Resource Generalist Janet McCrory said there is no time limit specified in the handbook for how soon an employee has to be drug tested after a crash when the wreck happens after hours.

Councilmember Cynthia James said that Petite should have followed the daytime protocol, alerted his supervisor immediately, and not left the scene. 

"It's nothing personal, it's just that the rule needs to be followed for everyone," James said. 

Councilmember Kirk Boudreaux argued that Petite did not do the "right thing" by leaving the crash site. 

"We're setting the precedent that anybody can wreck a car and drive away from the scene," Boudreaux said. 

McCrory said that Petite has not been disciplined, and any punishment would be decided by the human resources department and Gonzales Mayor Tim Riley, Petite's boss.

James pushed for Petite to be strictly punished, saying that she recommended that he be fired and suspended. She said the city council should handle his discipline instead of Riley. 

As of Monday night, the results of Petite's drug screening have not been finalized.