MAYOR’S PICK FOR CHIEF - Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins held a press conference yesterday afternoon for the purpose of announcing his nomination for the next Shreveport Chief of Police. Perkins announcement of Ben Raymond as his nominee for police chief came as something of a surprise to many as Raymond was not one of the three finalists recommended by an eight-person advisory committee comprised of city leaders, attorneys, and both active and retired law enforcement members. The three candidates advanced by the advisory committee were Sgt. Michael Carter, Lt. Tedris Smith and Assistant Chief of Police Wayne Smith. Perkins explained why he chose Raymond as nominee over the others.
"He (Raymond) has consistently scored the highest on the Civil Service Exam," explained Perkins. "He took the helm when the department leadership was in flux, and went on to implement strategies that had afforded us the opportunities to experience a decrease in crime under his leadership."
Ben Raymond, has been the Shreveport Police Department's Provisional Police Chief since November when Chief Alan Crump stepped down amid controversy for his handling of the department. Last week, while Mayor Perkins was out of town, Mayor Pro Tem /Councilman Jerry Bowman Jr. moved to have Raymond included among the final candidates which drew fire from the Shreveport Police Officer’s Association as they sent an open letter to Mayor Perkins expressing they were appalled with the move. Raymond shared a few remarks during the press conference after his nomination by the mayor.
"As your chief, my job is to provide leadership and direction to over 700 men and women who are dedicated to serving this community," Raymond said. "The crime rate is still trending down as it has been all year. And as of the end of August, we are on pace to have the lowest reported crime rate in our city since 1975."
The nomination still has to be put on the city council agenda and confirmed by a majority of its members. Mayor Perkins did ask the council for a suspension of the rules and to proceed with approving Raymond for Tuesday’s council meeting but City Councilman Willie Bradford said he would not support suspending the rules. Bradford cited concerns that he needed to speak with Raymond before the councilman would be comfortable moving forward with the nomination. Clock is ticking on Raymond’s nomination as the city is legally bound to select a chief by September 29th otherwise they will have to start the selection process from scratch.
