NEW ORLEANS — The founder of the New Orleans Police Foundation defended an $80 million plan for the city's police, touting its economic and safety benefits and pushing back against policy criticisms.
Foundation founder John Casbon stood beside Mayor LaToya Cantrell and Police Chief Shaun Ferguson as they announced the proposal in a Sept. 8 press conference.
The group had partnered with former New York Police Department officials who served as consultants for the plan, arriving in New Orleans in August with an 88-page memo for the city's police.
Casbon responded to criticisms made by Councilman Joe Giarrusso III, who took issue on Wednesday with a proposal inside the memo to shut down a police district inside Giarrusso's constituency to raise revenue for the project.
"That's a non starter for me," Giarrusso said on Wednesday. "I don't think shutting down police districts at this moment is good ... even temporarily."
Casbon said the district shutdown will not happen.
"We're not doing that." Casbon said. "What the public saw that was released, was a 10-day scan that never should have been released. It was actually leaked."
Casbon encouraged people to look at statements made by Cantrell and Feguson instead, adding that he believes that the price tag behind the official proposal is a necessary cost for revitalizing the city's reputation and industry.
"Crime and economic development are handcuffed together," Casbon said. "You can't have one without the other. When you have a city that is safe, it grows."
He also defended the city hiring Fausto Pichardo and Tom Conforti, former NYPD officials who consulted the New Orleans Police Department ahead of the proposal. Pichardo was named, "Consulting Chief of Operations," by Mayor Cantrell.
Councilman Giarrusso called their presence unnecessary on Wednesday:
"I don't know why you need those people to tell you what people already know the answer is," Giarrusso said.
Casbon, however, praised the consultants rank and experience.
"Every successful business uses consultants, all of us do," Casbon said. "What it does is it advances our operation to another level."