Principal’s prophecy
August 12, 2015
Brain-eating amoeba in Terrebonne water, but officials say it’s safe to drink
August 18, 2015
Thibodaux Police Chief Scott Silveri will leave his position Aug. 28, according to city officials, who said they are in the process of seeking a replacement.
Silveri, who held the job for four years, told Mayor Tommy Eschete nearly a month ago that he will retire. But until Wednesday there has been no public discussion of the matter.
Eschete confirmed that he and other officials had discussed the possibility of a ranking Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy taking Silveri’s place.
But Maj. Renee Brinkley said the timing is not right for her, particularly since she is in the midst of helping Sheriff Craig Webre with his plans for construction of a new jail to replace that agency’s ailing lockup.
“We held it under wraps,” Eschete said of Silveri’s departure plans. “I have had other department heads move on and I don’t beg them to stay, I just wish them the best. Scott has discussed this with me for not even a month now that he was looking to move on. We weren’t ready to make a statement on it until we were absolutely sure that was going to happen.”
Silveri has not yet made a public statement regarding his pending departure, but confirmed that he is looking forward to retirement.
“It’s all very positive,” Silveri said. God placed it on my heart a while back.”
While Eschete and most members of the city council have praised work Silveri has done as chief, the feeling is not unanimous.
Council member Constance Johnson, who has been critical of the police department and of Eschete, said the departure of Silveri will be “a significant change for the department in terms of making it better.”
Silveri’s programs for crime-fighting and community management, Johnson said, are better suited to bigger cities.
“The chief did not have the leadership skills to bring harmony to the office,” Johnson said, citing what she sees as inability to retain officers.
“We have had six murders and five of the murders were in my district,” Johnsiron said. “A lot of this has to do with leadership. We need a strong person, a fair person and someone who is going to work within our community and within the department.”
With Brinkley not seeking the post, Eschete acknowledged, there are no immediately apparent heirs.
Eschete said he would appoint someone from inside the department – likely a captain – to lead the agency while a permanent replacement is sought.
