The New Orleans Police Department's next permanent superintendent will be selected via a search process. Now, the head of the Police Association of New Orleans is urging the mayor and her consultants to choose that next chief wisely.
PANO president Michael Glasser failing to do so could lead to a mass exodus of officers come the spring.
"If leadership doesn't step up and and change and provide something affirmative to these officers, when they get their bonus in March, you're going to see the Ides of March, and you're going to see them walking out," Glasser told WWL's Dave Cohen. "I already have officers asking me do they have to stay all the way to March to get their bonus (and) can they leave sometime in 2023 and still get the bonus."
Glasser says the NOPD's new permanent chief needs a leader who can change the department's culture as well as clamp down on crime.
"What leadership is is saying, 'This is the plan going forward, and this is the timeframe in which we'll do it, and this is what you can expect to see from me, and this is what I expect to see from you,'" Glasser said. "I'm hoping that whatever leadership we have, whoever that is, steps forward, has a plan, and we start implementing it and keeping people on board. What we're looking for--and what I think we'd be looking for--is a leader, someone who has a plan. I'd like to see someone say, 'These are the problems we have. This is my short-term solution. This is my long-term solution. This is what I've done.'"
Glasser added that he hopes things work out well for interim NOPD superintendent Michelle Woodfork, who will take control of the department tomorrow upon the retirement of Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.
