Despite New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell naming an interim police chief and saying there will be a search process for a new, permanent superintendent, members of the New Orleans City Council want to make sure that there is a transparent, nationwide search.
New Orleans City Councilman Joe Giarrusso says the council is asking the Police Executive Research Forum to help the city find its next chief.
"We're sending a letter as a group to PERF, which is one of the police organizations, to ask them to help us with a national search," Giarrusso told WWL's Newell Normand on Wednesday.
When announcing the appointment of Michelle Woodfork as interim superintendent, Mayor said she would enlist the help of a consultant to find a permanent selection, but also said that search should start within the NOPD. Giarrusso says the council wants to the mayor to make sure the widest possible net is being cast.
"We want to make sure, if there's people inside NOPD, that they are properly vetted," Giarrusso said. "Nobody ought to be afraid of looking outside the organization for the best possible talent."
Giarrusso said past administrations made sure to take their time, and he pointed out that national searches are nothing new in New Orleans, and aren't exclusive to the NOPD.
"We've done national searches for other things, too," Giarrusso said. "When Sewerage & Water Board had a director, that was a national search, so it's not as though NOPD is being treated as an outlier, it's best practice."
