A 32-year veteran of the New Orleans Police Department will lead the force while Mayor LaToya Cantrell conducts a nationwide search for the next permanent leader of the department.
Cantrell announced Tuesday that Captain Michelle Woodfork will be sworn in as the NOPD's interim superintendent on Thursday when outgoing chief Shaun Ferguson's retirement takes effect.
"I'm so excited about this appointment," Mayor Cantrell said during a media briefing. "She grew up understanding the importance of law and order."
Captain Woodfork is a second-generation NOPD officer. Her father was an NOPD officer who later moved to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. Her uncle, Warren Woodfork, was the city's first Black police superintendent, serving under mayors Dutch Morial and Sidney Barthelemy. In fact, Woodfork joined the NOPD in January 1991, the same year her uncle retired as superintendent.
"She began her career as a patrol officer on the streets of our city in District 7," Mayor Cantrell noted. "Captain Woodfork has been assigned to five of our districts, including the Eight District where she served at the rank of patrol officer, sergeant, and lieutenant. She served a total of 12 years as a detective and, later, a sergeant in the sex crimes child abuse unit, investigating and supervising sexual abuse criminal investigations including deaths including children."
From there, Woodfork served in management positions under superintendents Ronal Serpas and Ferguson. She launched the Alternative Police Response Unit, after which she was promoted to lieutenant. In November 2021, Woodfork was promoted to the rank of captain and became the head of the Managements Services Bureau.
"She has made it up the ranks without favor," Cantrell said. "It was her grit, her tenacity, hard work, determination, endurance, (and) strong and steadfast focus--focusing on the mission at hand (that got her to this point)."
"As I child, I was fortunate enough to experience excellence in policing and law enforcement as I watched both my father and my uncle protect and serve as members of the New Orleans Police Department," Woodfork said. "I am their legacy. As I watched them, the seed to serve and protect was planted."
Woodfork said she loves her job and that she understands the gravity of her new role.
"I am honored an humbled to serve as interim superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, and I understand that with this appointment comes great responsibility and accountability," Woodfork said. "I will serve with honesty and integrity. I am laser-focused on leaving the New Orleans Police Department in the best possible state to be in when it is my time to retire. I hope I can work with community members, political members of the community, and the men and women of the police department to make this the best possible city we can make it."
Cantrell also announced that she is launching a nationwide search for the city's new permanent superintendent. Cantrell said she will hire a consultant to handle that search. She noted that multiple cities across the United States have hired NOPD officers to lead their police departments. She also noted the search could lead the consultant back to Woodfork or another NOPD officer.
"This consultant will understand that there a number of individuals inside our department today that are credible, that have what it takes," Cantrell said.
