WEST BATON ROUGE PARISH, La. (WAFB) - Former West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Mike Cazes died Monday after a medical emergency at his home.

Cazes served as sheriff for 20 years after being elected in 2004. He began his career as a reserve deputy in 1979 and worked his way up through the ranks.

“He led by example, and his word was his bond, it was golden. If he gave you his word, you could stand by it,” said Lt. Ron Pourciau, who worked with Cazes for 14.5 years.

Pourciau, who has served with the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office for over two decades, said Cazes was known for helping others.

“He’s helped so many people. He didn’t have the word no in his vocabulary. He just helped everyone, everywhere he went he put himself second,” Pourciau said.

Under Cazes’ leadership, the sher

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