N.O. police commander Darryl Albert named Montgomery police chief

A New Orleans police commander has been named Montgomery’s police chief.

Darryl Albert mostly recently led the Special Operations Division for the New Orleans Police Department. He has more than 30 years of experience, Mayor Steven Reed said.

During an afternoon press conference, Reed called Albert a “best-in-class leader.”

DARRYL ALBERT

He said that Albert understood “good law-enforcement understanding,” but was also “understanding” in hearing other sides.

Albert repeated variations of the phrase “hard on crime, kind on community.” He explained that he was interested in bringing in more state and federal charges to be tougher on crime. In response to a question about how he would respond to a misdemeanor vs. felony, he explained that he felt “misdemeanors often are just the beginning” on the pathway to felonies.

In response to another question about why he selected Montgomery, Albert explained that it was similar to New Orleans. “New Orleans is 280 miles to the west. Great southern city. Montgomery’s a great southern city.”

“Commander Albert led units that slashed New Orleans’ murder rate while significantly reducing instances of violent crime,” the mayor’s said.

“He proved instrumental in leading city-wide preparation, deployment and recovery efforts amid Hurricane Katrina as well as other storm and emergency events.”

Albert’s leadership roles at the New Orleans Police Department include Deputy Chief of Field Operations, the largest Bureau within New Orleans Police Department; Commander of NOPD Crime laboratory; commander of criminal investigations division for homicide.

This article originally published in the March 28, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.