New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson will retire next week, and there's still no word from Mayor LaToya Cantrell about how she will select his successor.
Now, another criminal justice stakeholder is calling for the mayor to conduct a national search.
"The objective in replacing Shaun Ferguson is to find the most qualified person," Metropolitan Crime Commission head Rafael Goyeneche told WWL's Newell Normand.
Goyeneche said if Cantrell fails to conduct a national search, she'd put the new NOPD superintendent in a political predicament.
"Whoever she appoints is going to be, in those circumstances, going to be put in a difficult position both with the public and with the men and women of the New Orleans Police Department," Goyaneche said.
A national search would lead to the mayor's nomination coming after the first of the year, requiring the city council to confirm her pick as per a newly-approved city charter amendment. Goyaneche says if Cantrell makes her appointment before New Year's Day, she'd be disrespecting the will of the voters.
"The voters overwhelmingly supported the charter change that required the city council's concurrence for any department head appoints including the police chief," Goyaneche said. "If the mayor appoints somebody between December 22 and December 30, I think it's clear that she's thumbing her nose at the voters.
"What I hope she does is that she remembers her state of the city address last week where she professed that she doesn't want to fight (but) she wants to build," Goyeneche added. "So I suggest the she consider starting with her selection for the police chief and conducting a national search."
