NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The outgoing police chief in New Orleans said Wednesday that his successor should from come within the ranks of current members of the department — putting him at odds with City Council members who are calling for a nationwide search.
Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson made his feelings known at a news conference, one day after he announced plans to retire at the end of the year. Some on the City Council want a wide-ranging search for a new chief as New Orleans deals with dwindling police manpower and an alarming increase in violent crime that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ferguson said he has not been pressured to leave by Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who appointed him four years ago and who is under increasing criticism for the city’s high violent crime rate.
“I was not forced out. This is my decision,” Ferguson said.
He was asked to comment on local reports that a deputy superintendent, Jonette Williams, is a likely successor. He spoke highly of Williams but also ticked off the names of other high-ranking officers who he said would be good candidates.
“We don’t have to go anywhere … We have great men and women who work for this department and can lead this department,” Ferguson said.
City Council president Helena Moreno had called Tuesday for a nationwide search for a new chief, saying Cantrell shouldn’t make the appointment without council backing. Moreno cited recent voter approval of a requirement that the council approve the mayor’s appointees — which doesn’t take effect until Jan. 1.
J.P. Morrell, an at-large council member elected city-wide, had called days earlier for Ferguson’s resignation, citing low morale in the department and saying officers lacked faith in current leadership. He was critical of the idea that a member of the department’s current leadership team should take the helm.
“Picking another person in the leadership structure is slapping the officers in the face,” Morrell told reporters Tuesday, according to The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
Ferguson said Wednesday he decided to leave the job to devote more time to his family and has no immediate plans for new employment. He said he joined the police force more than 24 years ago to provide for his family but, “the blue became my family. And the blue was before my blood family. So, it’s time to put the blood first.”
A successor to former chief Michael Harrison, who left to become police chief in Baltimore, Ferguson said he has no plans to leave the city.