New Orleans residents and officers of the New Orleans Police Department are waiting to see who Mayor LaToya Cantrell appoints to be the city's next police superintendent.
This waiting game comes after NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson announced his retirement during a Wednesday news conference. That retirement will take effect on December 22.
During that news conference, Ferguson said he believes the city's next top cop is already in the NOPD. Former NOPD superintendent Ronal Serpas disagrees, saying Mayor Cantrell should launch a national search for the city's next top cop.
"I think that the city of New Orleans needs and external leader," Serpas told WWL-TV on Thursday. "I think the city of New Orleans needs a leader who has already proven as a chief a police that they can deal with . . . political instability like we have, significant crime and proven record of crime reduction, and a proven record of dealing with staff reductions and realigning with policing in this new century."
Serpas says that search could lead Cantrell to a superintendent candidate who has ties to the NOPD.
"In just the last couple of years, we've had many of our young leaders that we identified go on to become police chiefs in their own cities," Serpas said.
Serpas says whoever gets the nod from the mayor will need the full support of City Hall to succeed.
"That's political support. That's financial support. That's the ability to have a cohesive message across the entire government," Serpas said. "Candidly, there's only one place you gotta look, and that's the mayor."
Cantrell has not indicated if she will launch a national search. She also has not said what her timeline for naming a new chief is.
