The proposed new police chief in New Orleans is smart, experienced, forward-thinking and has the stamp of approval from Newell Normand, who said 'objectively, you wouldn't choose any other candidate.'
But the five-hour hearing with interim Chief Anne Kirkpatrick was pure frustration for Normand who wondered why crime was discussed so little and why so many things centered around the culture of New Orleans instead.
Kirkpatrick was questioned heavily about her 'cultural competence,' which Normand said seemed like a very amateurish line of inquiry for someone you primarily want to stop and solve crime.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Friday morning swore in Kirkpatrick as the new interim superintendent. Kirkpatrick, a Memphis native, most recently served as police chief in Oakland, California. She'd previously worked for six months as a bureau chief in Chicago, and before then as police chief in Spokane, Washington for five years.
Kirkpatrick beat out 33 applicants in a search by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Per WDSU, she was the first female chief to lead the Oakland Police Department, has worked as a political consultant and with the FBI. She has a law degree.
"Policing is a noble profession, but the profession needs a culture change. I understand culture change and more importantly, I know how to lead it," Kirkpatrick said in a press release.
She will be the first permanent female chief in New Orleans.
But does her cultural competence matter?
"Who decides when that happens (becomes part of the culture)? How long does it have to exist? Is there a vote? Is there an informal process to say this is now part of our culture?" Normand asked.
Normand pointed out that people are selling balloons full of nitrous oxide, so-called laughing gas, outside Saints games and at Jazz Fest and other places -- does that mean it's part of the New Orleans culture because it exists?
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"We're just sucking it down like there's no tomorrow and we think that's good for our community and now it's part of our community and our culture. Did somebody vote on that? I don't view that as being part of our culture."
Listen to his rant above and let us know on Facebook: Does the police chief's cultural competence matter?