Councilman Bowman Adds Ben Raymond to List of Police Chief Candidates
Shreveport Police Chief Ben Raymond's name will be added to the list of finalists.
But this move has not been done by Mayor Adrian Perkins. Council Chairman Jerry Bowman has made the decision since he is apparently Mayor Pro Tem while Perkins is out town.
Here is the statement KEEL News received from Bowman:
The selection of the person who will lead the Shreveport Police Department is very serious and this is and has been been my top priority, I’m confident that Mayor Perkins will keep his pledge of selecting someone who is committed to community oriented policing as well as someone with integrity, someone whose qualities mirror the needs of our community as a whole and at the end of the day, someone who will commit to work on bridging the gap between the narrative of “ 2 Shreveport’s “.
Substitute Chief Ben Raymond has served in the capacity as Shreveport Chief of Police for the past 10 months; He has garnered the support from a majority of the members of the Shreveport City Council; He has achieved the highest scores on the Chief of Police examination twice; I have been contacted by numerous citizens who have expressed serious concerns about the selection committee’s exclusion of Chief Raymond as a potential candidate for the permanent position of Chief of Police; I have likewise been contacted by several officers of the Shreveport Police Department who have expressed the same concern;
In my opinion, based upon all of these factors and concerns, it would be imprudent to exclude Chief Raymond as a candidate for the permanent position of Chief of Police for the City of Shreveport;
I wholeheartedly believe and agree that this selection is that of the mayor and not a political fight but a fight for public safety.
Therefore, in order to assure the continuity in this fight for public safety, as Mayor Pro tem, I am including Chief Raymond as a candidate for the permanent position of Chief of Police for the City of Shreveport.
Councilman Jerry Bowman Jr.