NEW ORLEANS — Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration hired the International Association of Chiefs of Police to run its search for the next NOPD superintendent for $90,000. The organization produced its reports on four of the six semifinalists Monday, but still won’t turn over the other two.
The IACP’s Meghann Casanova wrote in an email July 31 that two candidates had withdrawn and, therefore, only the four remaining candidates were included in the reports it produced to the city.
Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño immediately emailed back to demand the reports for the two candidates that withdrew – retired Albuquerque police director and former Texas state trooper David Franklin and Philadelphia Police Inspector DeShawn Beaufort.
“All six candidates went through the interview process and have been scored by members of the IACP team. We understand that two of the candidates have withdrawn their names, however, we respectfully request all six candidates scores and profiles. It is important for the city to be completely transparent and provide this information,” Montaño wrote to Casanova.
Montaño, who also worked in Albuquerque government before joining the Cantrell administration but never overlapped in New Mexico’s largest city with Franklin, said Friday that he still hasn’t heard back from anyone at IACP about his request four days later.
“To not hear anything back when I sent it as soon as I got it on Monday… I don't know,” Montaño said, shaking his head.
Casanova did not respond to a request for comment Friday. IACP didn’t respond to WWL-TV’s questions Tuesday either.
“But hopefully we can work that out because, as I said in the email, it is very clear that we should be entitled to that,” Montaño said. “And I think it would make a little bit more holistic perspective of the entire process.”
That’s particularly important because Cantrell said she considers Franklin one of her four finalists for the job. She said this week that her team was reaching out to Franklin to ask him to reconsider his decision to drop out and let the mayor interview him.
Cantrell accepted the IACP’s recommendation for the three other finalists: former Henderson, Nev. Police Chief Thedrick Andres, who got the highest score from IACP; former Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, who finished second; and current NOPD Interim Superintendent Michelle Woodfork, who finished a close third.
An internal committee comprised of Cantrell administration officials, which also interviewed the six semifinalists during an assessment process July 20-21, recommended those three plus Franklin as finalists.