While Mayor Kip Holden’s performance evaluation of Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White is fueling speculation that the chief could soon be out of a job, Metro Councilman Joel Boé—who is leading the charge to form a committee to study consolidating the BRPD and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office—says the chief is doing a good job: such a good job, in fact, he may be ruffling the wrong feathers. “He is an honorable man and a good man for the job,” Boé says. “But I think he is hitting some road blocks that may be inhibiting some of his reforms.” Among those road blocks is the police union, which has a collective bargaining agreement with the city-parish and has found itself increasingly at odds with the chief. Boé says that friction is all the more reason to consider moving toward a single law enforcement agency, which could strip the union of some of its power. He says the performance evaluation of the chief also underscores the need to look hard at whether it is best to keep an appointed chief or to move toward an elected law enforcement head, like the EBRSO has. “The police chief has to serve at the discretion of the mayor,” Boé notes. “That’s a difficult position to be in.” Through a spokesman, White declined to comment. The mayor has said he is evaluating 13 other department heads in his administration in addition to White. Daily Report has a listing of other officials under review here. —Stephanie Riegel
Today’s poll question: How would you grade Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White’s performance since becoming department head on May 31, 2011?
