Beginning with his election in 1960, Sheriff W. E. Harson instituted the Parish’s first departmentalized Sheriff’s Office. He was also the first Lafayette Sheriff to emphasize training, as he required his personnel to attend special training courses at L.S.U. Sheriff Harson also instituted the first boat patrol on the Vermilion River and the first vehicular rescue unit equipped with a resuscitator, tools and a radio. Sheriff Carlo Listi, elected in 1968, continued the progress started by Sheriff Harson, by transforming the Sheriff’s Office into one of the most efficient, best-equipped, and hardest-hitting law enforcement agencies in the state.  Sheriff Listi insisted on a constant patrol system over the entire parish as well as the most modern equipment to protect his deputies. Sheriff Listi organized P.I.L.O.T., a Police Integrated Logistical Operations Team, which gained national recognition. The purpose of P.I.L.O.T. was to afford the most efficient methods possible for rescue work and emergencies pertaining to law enforcement. Sheriff Listi maintained an “Angel of Mercy Vehicle”, an emergency rescue unit for the sole purpose of saving lives in highway accidents, fires, floods, hurricanes, and other disasters.