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The imminent departure of Thibodaux Police Chief Scott Silveri leaves an open question of who should end up running the department, as well as how the selection should be made.
Discussions with one potential replacement took place earlier this month.
But Maj. Renee Brinkley of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office has chosen not to pursue the potential of serving as Thibodaux’s top cop, leaving what Mayor Tommy Eschete acknowledges is an open field.
Eschete announced Silveri’s plans Aug. 12, more than a month, he later said, after learning of them.
“We held it under wraps,” Eschete admitted in response to a question from The Times.
What community leaders hope won’t be kept under wraps is the quest for a new chief, with some suggesting that civilians outside of government play a role in he process.
Silveri, whose law enforcement career spans more than 25 years, was sworn in as chief in 2011.
“Scott’s commitment to data based policing, improved technology and communications paved the way for our police department to become a model of efficiency for all
small law enforcement agencies in our state,” said Eschete, who praised what he called a commitment by the chief to sharing a vision, particularly in regard to community-based policing and transparency in government.
Transparency is something some residents say has been lacking in the replacement process thus far, and are hoping for better. Relations between the Thibodaux department and residents of predominantly black neighborhoods have been strained, despite what some see as good-faith efforts on Silveri’s part to improve them.
Constance Johnson, the only black member of Thibodaux’s City Council, has expressed confidence that Eschete will keep her in the loop as he goes about recruitment. She has been a strong local voice for reform in police-community relations. Last year she called for Silveri’s removal because of long-standing allegations of heavy-handed treatment of black people by officers.
“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,” Johnson 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.”
Burnell Tolbert, president of the NAACP’s Lafourche Parish branch, says he respects Silveri and believes his intentions were good, though he is not certain how well they were executed.
Not lost on black leaders in a city that is nearly 38 percent black is the absence of diversity in administration.
Tolbert would rather see the city move to an elected police chief, though even if he is successful in lobbying for that, he acknowledges, change would likely not come about soon enough for the selection of a chief this go-round.
“I don’t like the idea of a chief being selected by the mayor,” Tolbert said. “If the chief says something needs to be addressed and the mayor doesn’t it can cause problems. With an election the chief is accountable to the people.”
Former NAACP president Charles Mosley, who owns a bar within the city limits, has been publicly critical of Eschete, and dismissed outreach to black chief candidates as an exercise in “tokenism.”
“I see another perception disaster as far as public relations and perceptions with the police department,” Mosley said. “The biggest group of people in Thibodaux who have contact with the police department, positive or negative, are black people.”
It is not necessary, Mosley said, to have a black chief law enforcement executive in order for the police to have credibility in the community. But a new chief, he said, needs to be someone who can gracefully and effectively cross the color gap.
Mosley said a panel of community leaders chosen by businesses, advocates and perhaps even a newspaper could serve in an advisory capacity during the search, which he said should not be limited to locals.
“We are probably going to have to look into doing it that way,” Tolbert said.
Silveri has won critical acclaim for his writings on policing strategies and has served on national boards and commissions dedicated to professionalism in law enforcement.
“It’s been a blessing to serve as Chief of Police in my hometown,” Silveri said in a statement issued last week. “I thank you all for trusting in your police, especially at a time when those bonds are strained nationwide. We’ve something special here and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Eschete said he has not yet formulated plans for choosing a replacement, and that an interim chief would likely be appointed to fill in after Silveri leaves.
