by Malcolm Butler
The main agenda item for tonight’s Ruston City Council meeting is the vote for the appointment for the new police chief for the Ruston Police Department.
Following Steve Rogers retirement in February, Ruston mayor Ronny Walker appointed Deputy Chief Chad Hamlin in an interim role February 19 as the process for the permanent replacement continued to unfold.
Walker said Thursday that he was happy with the interview process as he and a team of city staff members who have helped in management level interviews in the past met with each candidate over the last 10 days.
“The committee and I interviewed each of the nine candidates, but this is an appointment that I will make,” said Walker. “But ultimately, I don’t have a vote. All I do is appoint somebody, and the City Council has to approve or disapprove (the candidate that I appoint).
“We met with three on (February 20), three on (February 21) and three on (February 24). We had one candidate that stood out in our eyes. I am very excited, and I think our city will be very excited with who the council approves.”
Walker said he is meeting individually today with each candidate that interviewed to let them know the direction that he decided to go with the appointment.
Eleven candidates originally took the exam with 10 receiving passing scores, including eight current RPD members and two external candidates, both of whom served with RPD in the past. Only nine of the 10 who passed the test decided to go through the interview process.
Hamlin is one of the nine eligible candidates who interviewed for the permanent job including seven internal candidates: Lieutenants Kayla Loyd, and Stephen Morace, both patrol team supervisors; Sergeant Jessie Dylan Castaneda, a patrol supervisor; Officers Chris Davis, Arthur Eleam, and Hannah Laborde, all assigned to criminal investigations.
The two external candidates are former RPD officers. Lt. Brian Vann retired in 2021 after nearly 33 years with the department. Eric Watson served as a patrol officer for several years in the 1990s while attending Louisiana Tech. He recently retired from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Walker said that the interview process also allowed him to gain new insight on the future direction and leadership of the Ruston Police Department.
“I was impressed that all the applicants had ideas for things that they would do,” said Walker. “New ideas. I am not a policeman so things I never thought about. We got a lot of insight from those interviews.”
Walker said he expects to have a press conference this week to formally introduce the next Ruston Police Chief and that he will have a better idea late this week of when that individual will be sworn in.
