NOPD recruiting efforts take another hit
17th July 2017 · 0 Comments
It can be said that the NOPD’s Recruitment and Applicant Division is its own worst enemy. As the severely undermanned police department continues to struggle to bolster its ranks, the division last week lost its third leader since February.
Despite the critical function it plays as the NOPD tries to grow from an estimated 1,160 police officers to the 1,600 the Landrieu administration says it needs to keep residents and tourists safe, the Recruitment Division continues to undermine its own efforts.
Thus far this year, the division has lost critical leaders because of questions about the practices of one key leader, another leader’s contact with female NOPD applicants and most recently, discrepancies in a recently hired administrator’s application that led to her dismissal after only five days on the job.
In February, a report from the NOPD consent-decree federal monitor, Washington, DC-based Sheppard, Mullin, Hampton & Richter, led to the removal of Jonathan Wisbey, the civilian director of the Recruitment Division. Then in May, NOPD Commander Carlton Lewis, a 30-year veteran of the department, was transferred after questions arose about inappropriate contact with female applicants. Those allegations are currently being investigated.
Finally, Keia Stepter was recently terminated after just five days after questions arose about her application and the job’s requirements, Civil Service records show.
WWL News reported that Stepter’s application to fill the post of civilian director of the NOPD’s Recruitment Division was impressive enough to allow her to be hired under an emergency appointment at an increased salary due to her “extraordinary qualifications,” according to emails about her appointment.
Things unraveled five days later after the Civil Service Dept. determined that she fell short of the position’s requirements.
Stepter began working on June 6 while the Civil Service Dept. was still reviewing her paperwork under the fast-track appointment, according to records.
The position requires six years of experience, something Stepter didn’t have since her college transcript showed that she graduated in 2014.
“Apparently, they were more interested in getting the position filled quickly than getting it filled properly,” PANO President Michael Glasser told WWL last week.
“That would be the problem. I think the next selection better be scrutinized a bit more carefully.”
WWL reported that after Stepter received a letter telling her of her dismissal, she wrote an email lobbying to keep the job which pays an annual salary of $68,000. But Deputy Director of Civil Service Amy Trepaigner wrote back that Stepter erroneously answered questions about her experience when she stated she had 10 years of experience after receiving her college degree.
In her email, Stepter said she “misread the question.”
Fraternal Order of Police attorney Donovan Livaccari told WWL that despite the urgency to ramp up hiring, the NOPD needs to be more careful in filling this important position.
The first civilian commander, former NOPD Deputy Chief of Staff Jonathan Wisbey, was transferred out of the police department in February after a scathing report about the performance of the unit.
The NOPD consent-decree federal monitor found that 59 out of 137 police academy recruits “had documented risk indicators without a corresponding explanation as to why or how those risk indicators were overcome.”
At least one police union leader had also expressed concerns about Wisbey, a former member of the Landrieu administration, giving the mayor too much control of the NOPD, a claim the Landrieu administration has dismissed.
In May, the NOPD commander of the Recruitment & Applicant Investigation Divion, Lt. Carlton Lewis, was transferred to a district patrol position due to an internal investigation by the Public Integrity Division. PIB continues to look into a complaint that Lewis had improper contacts with female applicants, an allegation that his attorney flatly denies.
Livaccari told WWL that the NOPD needs to make certain that the next person hired to lead the unit is impeccable.
“These missteps need to be avoided in general if we’re going to make any progress in hiring,” FOP Attorney Donovan Livaccari said. “They need to stop, gather themselves, and figure out a sure course of action. It’s more important to get it right than to get it done tomorrow.”
NOPD Communications Director Michael Tidwell issued this statement regarding Stepter.
“Ms. Stepter was hired as an ‘emergency appointment’ from the qualified applicant pool listed on the Civil Service register, to expedite her employment while her credentials were being verified. Unfortunately, Civil Service ultimately determined that she was not qualified for the position — necessitating her termination.”
This article originally published in the July 17, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
