WWL’s Newell Normand isn’t the only one frustrated with the search for a new chief to lead the New Orleans Police Department.
“I think the lack of transparency could actually blow up the whole process,” said City Council member Helena Moreno this week.
Former police chief Shaun Ferguson retired late last year and longtime department member Michelle Woodfork has been serving as interim chief. Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in June that Woodfork was one of the applicants to officially fill the position. Later, she announced that the city had received a total of 33 applications as of June 23.
This week, it was revealed that the pool has been narrowed down to six applicants. The International Association of Chiefs of Police is expected to screen these applications.
Moreno said that when she asked people involved in the screening process to explain it to the council, she “never got a response back,” while other members of the council sent a more official letter.
“We want to understand process,” she said of their requests. “The public needs to understand the process, what’s going to happen moving forward.”
However, she said her fellow council members were rejected. People involved in the process only offered basic information, such as the number of men and women who applied.
“I’m like, whoa, this doesn’t make sense,” said Moreno, a former anchor and reporter. “I almost feel like someone had told ICP to not have these types of public dialogs and not come before the council. There’s always this thing about not wanting people to come before the council – you know, it’s like they don’t want us to ask questions. So, this is all to me… it’s very frustrating.”
She thinks there needs to be a “major pivot towards transparency” and that at least the names of the candidates should be released.
“When it comes to an important position like the police chief, they should be vetted,” Moreno added. “We should understand their histories. We should understand their past.”
Normand agreed and said that Cantrell should just “read the room.”
Listen to their full conversation here.
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