LPSO exec nominated for TPD job

Thibodaux Mayor Tommy Eschete confirmed Friday that he has nominated Capt. Scott Silverii of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office to serve as the next chief of police at the Thibodaux Police Department.

Silverii headed the patrol division at LPSO and has been a national pioneer in Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety. He was presented a Public Service Award for his work in traveling the country to promote the strategy by the U.S. Department of Transportation in November.

“We interviewed four applicants for the position,” Eschete said. “It was a pretty lengthy process, and I felt like all four were certainly qualified for the position, but we’ve only got one chief of police and I just felt like [Silverii] was the right guy at the right time.”

Silverii began his career with LPSO in 1990 as a patrol deputy after he graduated from Nicholls State University with a bachelor’s degree in general studies and a minor in criminal justice.

He would later achieve a master’s degree in public administration from the University of New Orleans and said he has finished the coursework and hopes to finish defending his dissertation on the police culture for his doctorate in urban studies by the summer.

The prospective chief of police emphasized transparency within the department in an effort to reconnect with the city.

“The way we clean up that image is to make ourselves accessible to the public,” Silverii said. “I’ve said before, I want our guys to get out of that 2,000-pound bubble of steel. I want us to be out on foot. I want us to be on bicycles. I want us to be approachable. We need to reach beyond that comfort zone and make partnerships. I’ve seen it done before, and I know that’s going to re-instill trust and confidence for the citizens in the police department.”

He stressed that his department will work smart, and said he will encourage his deputies to continue their education.

“I came up in a very nurturing law enforcement environment, where college and training were critical and paramount,” Silverii said. “The sheriff demanded it. That’s the environment I came up in, and that’ the environment that I want to present to these officers.”

Silverii said he has already informed the mayor that he plans to add a data analyst to the department and will bring with him the DDACTS strategy to determine the department’s best allocation of resources.

“You have to be able to quantify your successes,” he said. “People talk about statistics and we’re doing a great job, but unless you can quantify what you’re doing, you don’t really know if what you’re doing is successful or not.”

The mayor said Silverii is the right hire to help the department regain public trust and help it progress under a new administration.

“It’s also about bringing a new image to the office,” Eschete said. “In that, you’re going to have people who are resistant to change, and I think we need somebody that can handle that. I’m certain Scott can do it.”

Eschete also confirmed nominating Miguel Maggio to head the city’s Department of Public Works. Maggio’s appointment is the culmination of 24 years of work with the department, a career that began with him handling delinquent accounts and slowly morphed into a nomination that Maggio equated to the Saints winning the Super bowl.

“I have done everything from delinquent accounts, to opening and closing of gas meters, to being a foreman over a crew that mostly did drainage work, concrete work,” Maggio said. “Pretty much, you name it, we’ve done it. Then I was promoted to supervisor in the department, and now, I guess this is my big chance.”

The mayor said he believes in rewarding long-term employees with a promotion as long as they can prove they are up for the challenge. Maggio was able to prove he could handle the decision-making process during his interim role as department head.

“Although Miguel is not a civil engineer, he certainly has experience in all facets of public works with the city,” Eschette said. “That type of knowledge is invaluable in my opinion.”

Unlike the police department, Maggio said the department will not undergo major changes.

“We’re not going to reinvent the wheel here,” he said. “We have a good thing going right now. We will make a few changes down the road, but as of now, everything is running smoothly.”

The nominations were presented to the Thibodaux City Council yesterday, who had the choice to affirm or deny the appointments. Results were not known as of press time.