40+ YEARS ON THE FORCE - The city of Shreveport has a new chief of police. Yesterday at a press conference at Government Plaza downtown, Mayor Adrian Perkins announced his pick for the top cop job was interim police chief Wayne Smith who will fill the position permanently.
"I'm also very confident and excited about Chief Wayne Smith," Perkins said. "Out of all the applicants he has the most command-level experience over 20 years. He served over 40 years in the police department and we've seen him on the job."
Smith was selected among 9 finalists in the application process. In August 2021, Wayne Smith was named interim chief after former chief Ben Raymond was asked to resign under pressure from Council members who felt the department wasn’t adequately addressing the city's sharp increase in homicides, violent crime in general and issues with emergency response times. Smith was asked why he wanted the job after more than 40 years on the force.
"I've been blessed with good health, good sound mind, and a reasonable portion of my strength," Smith said. "And I'm still just as excited today to come and serve this community as I was 40-plus years ago."
Smith will lead a police force that has been working extra shifts to take up the slack of 100 vacant positions. His appointment as chief still needs to be confirmed by the city council.
