BATON ROUGE (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards' choice to be the permanent leader of the Louisiana State Police is the same 27-year veteran of the department who was named interim superintendent in March.
The governor announced Tuesday he's keeping Col. Kevin Reeves at the helm of the Department of Public Safety Services. Edwards says in a statement that Reeves has done "an exceptional job" and has won praise from his colleagues and other law enforcement officials.
When he became superintendent, Reeves inherited a state police agency under financial review. He took over from Mike Edmonson, who retired after coming under criticism for his leadership of the agency.
Reeves described himself as humbled by the permanent appointment.
State law requires the Louisiana State Police superintendent to be a trooper from within the agency's ranks.
– by AP Reporter Melinda Deslatte
