SUNSET, La (KLFY) -- A Sunset Police Officer was allegedly fired today after refusing to follow orders he says are illegal and unethical.

Officer Derrick Savoie says he was asked to write a warrant for a man who was accused of trespassing and who Savoie says was illegally searched. Savoie says when he refused to write the illegal warrant, and Sunset's Chief of Police fired him.

News 10 sat down with Savoie for an exclusively interview, and he discussed how he wants law enforcement to be held accountable for breaking the law.

"If you, illegally search the vehicle, anything you find after that, is nothing," Savoie explained. "You can't, say 'oh look I found this. You illegally searched."

Savoie says on Jan. 7, Sunset police received a call about a man's vehicle trespassing on someone's property. After a routine check of the vehicle's license plate and tag, officers learned there was no insurance and tags were expired.

Savoie says before towing the vehicle, Sunset's Police Chief Luis Padella found drug paraphernalia after conducting an illegal search during inventory.

"While I'm doing my inventory, my chief, he's looking in this black and red bag, and I'm thinking to myself, you can't be looking in this man's bag," Savoie said.

Savoie questions if the search was necessary without probable cause.

"What probable cause do you have that says that you could search him just because he trespassed," Savoie said.

Savoie says a day or two after the incident, he was instructed to write a warrant to search the man's vehicle and home.

"Again, you cannot search somebody illegally then try to say, oh, I want one," he explained.

He says he refused because he felt it was wrong due to the first search being illegal. Savoie says weeks after his refusal, Chief Padella had a meeting with him about the warrant not being written. In this meeting Savoie says Padella told him he was fired.

"He basically fired me because I'm trying to be right," said Savoie.

News 10 reached out to Chief Padella for comment after obtaining footage of part of a conversation between Savoie and himself. After multiple attempts, there was no reply.

Savoie says laws should not be broken, even by those who enforce them and says he just wants everyone to be accountable for their actions.

"You should do what's right. Even when no one's watching," he added.

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