Potential Lafayette Police chiefs focus on violent crime, staffing, community policing
Two candidates applying to be Lafayette's next police chief want to focus on violent crime, department staffing, and community policing if they're selected.
The candidates were former Louisiana State Police Trooper Brian Ardoin and Lafayette Police Sgt. Dorian Brabham, answered questions spanning from how to address juvenile crime to working with other agencies and leaders in Lafayette during a forum Thursday night hosted by the League of Women Voters and Lafayette Chapter of the NAACP.
Candidate Capt. Judith Estorge didn't attend the forum.
Q&A: Lafayette Police chief candidates on violent crime, independence, staffing
"I opted out of the forum last night because as a current employee, I am active in Precinct Four," Estorge told The Daily Advertiser. "I know my community. On a regular basis, I meet members through knocking on doors and responding to their concerns.
"I regularly go to community meetings and the (community) walks. I participated over the summer with (Parish Council Chair) AB Rubin for the Safe Haven program," she added. "Being employed with the police department, I have the precinct to keep in mind."
Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory will pick the next police chief in October, a spokesperson said. While he alone will make the final call, Christie Maloyed with the League of Women Voters said she felt it was important the conversation between the next chief and the community started early.
More: Read about the applicants
The next chief will fill the position that has been left vacant for a year and has been a revolving door of leaders. LPD hasn’t had a chief remain four years in the job since former Chief Jim Craft, who took over in 2007 and left in 2016.
Since 2016, there have been five chiefs in five years. The last permanent chief was Thomas Glover Sr., who was fired after 10 months. After refusing to give reasons for his termination, LCG Chief Administrative Officer Cydra Wingerter later testified during an appeal hearing that she and Guillory "lost confidence" in his ability to carry out his duties. Glover was Lafayette's first permanent Black police chief.
To achieve stability and cohesiveness, Ardoin said he would ensure an open line of communication.
"After that communication, the individuals need to listen. I always said that there are two ways to listen. You can listen to respond or you can listen to understand. And, and I would listen to understand,' Ardoin said. "The final thing I would do is I would try to find common ground."
Brabham said that the advantage he holds is having an understanding of the police department and community as a tenured officer.
"The advantage that I have with building those relationships in this building is compounding on what already exists between myself and the members of Lafayette police department and myself and the mayor-president's office," he said.
Both Ardoin and Brabham said they would focus on violent crime, which has increased nationwide.
Brabham said part of focusing on violent crime means focusing on staffing.
"It was just on the TV about the New Orleans Police Department. They are so drastically understaffed that they're having to push people out of administrative roles onto the road to respond to calls for service," he said. "The reduction in staffing will show an increase in crime because there's not a patrol officer riding around in the neighborhood because they're going from call to call to call."
Part of staffing means focusing on recruiting diverse candidates, Ardoin said. It needs to go beyond diversifying by race and include age and gender. He also said training, including on how to interact with people with mental health issues, should be a priority
"We talk about training a lot right now,' he said. "But what we don't do is we don't talk training and education. Oftentimes people don't realize they're totally different."
Contact Ashley White at adwhite@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @AshleyyDi.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Lafayette Police Chief candidates talk violent crime, staffing
