A former chief of patrol for the New York City Police Department will serve as “consulting Chief of Operations” for the undermanned New Orleans Police Department, New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said Wednesday.
Fausto Pichardo will have the position for “as long as six months," Ferguson said in an email to his officers. The move comes as New Orleans struggles to cope with a diminishing force, low morale and increased response times for emergency calls — all at a time of pandemic-era increases in violent crime. The crime problem has heightened political pressure on Mayor LaToya Cantrell, the subject of a recent recall petition.
