The City of New Orleans today announced the six semi-finalist candidates for the Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), putting the department one step closer to having a new permanent chief.
The finalists are:
- Thedrick Andres, Sr.
- DeShawn T. Beaufort
- David Franklin
- Anne E. Kirkpatrick
- Jarad L. Phelps
- Michelle M. Woodfork
To see each candidate’s resume, click his or her name.
While Interim Supt. Michelle Woodfork, a 31-year NOPD veteran who was tapped by Mayor LaToya Cantrell to temporarily assume the department’s top job late last year, is the only internal candidate and the one with the longest history with NOPD, there is another with both local ties and experience with the department.
Thedrick Andres, who recently retired as chief of the Henderson Police Department, a city in Nevada near Las Vegas, spent seven years at NOPD, from 1998 to 2005, and is a Southern University at New Orleans graduate, earning his bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s degree in criminal justice at SUNO. Andres also served as a corrections officer with the Louisiana Department of Corrections and as an police officer for Charity Hospital before joining NOPD in 1998, according to his resume.
What’s Next
The six semi-finalists will participate in a full-day assessment center held in New Orleans on July 20 and 21.
At the Assessment Center, candidates will complete several exercises that evaluate both the technical competence and appropriate fit for the position.
Additionally, each candidate will participate in two panels, which include internal and external stakeholders. The panels will interview each candidate and provide written feedback that the IACP will include in the semi-finalist group profiles that are provided to the City.
