Seven additional candidates with more diverse backgrounds have applied to be Lafayette's next police chief.
The new applicants include residents of Nebraska, Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Washington State and Washington, D.C. Four applicants are White, two are Black and one is Native American. Louisiana is including the race of applicants because of national conversations surrounding race and policing.
"I am excited we have a good number of solid candidates," said Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Boulet. "And I look forward to the process."
The more recent applicants will join four who applied for the job over the summer. A fifth applicant who applied with the original group has since withdrawn his application.
Boulet promised a national search after former Police Chief Judith Estorge stepped down from the appointed position in May. Applications received by the original Aug. 9 deadline, however, were exclusively from south h residents.
The City Council recently approved a budget amendment to increase the chief's salary from $135,880 to $170,000 in an effort to attract a wider pool of candidates. Boulet also asked the Lafayette Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board to postpone a test for the original applicants and repost the position.
Boulet acknowledged that the initial application process may have been premature. Rachel Godeaux, her chief administrative officer, worked with the Police Executive Research Forum to conduct the more recent search for the city police's next leader.
The Civil Service Board is expected to approve applicants at its Nov. 13 meeting. From there, candidates will take the civil service test and a selection committee will make recommendations to the mayor-president.
The new applicants, with qualifications they listed on submitted resumes and applications, include:
Tom J. Burnside
Tom. J. Burnside, 51, is the acting special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service's Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information in Washington, D.C.
Burnside, who is White, earned his high school diploma in Shreveport and received a bachelor's in history and political science from LSU in 1996, a master's in computer fraud investigations from George Washington University in 2004 and a master's in government information leadership from the National Defense University in 2021.
He began working as an officer for the U.S. Capitol Police in 2000 and advanced through the ranks while working for the Department of Homeland Security and United States Secret Service while working in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Illinois. He is now the acting special agent in charge for the Secret Service's Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information.
Martin D. Edmondson
Martin D. Edmondson, 58, is the deputy police chief of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Edmondson, who is White, earned his bachelor's in criminal justice from Troy State University in Alabama. He also graduated from the Senior Management Institute for Police in Boston and studied management at Colorado Technical University and criminal justice at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
He works as the deputy chief of the Investigations and Special Operations Bureau for the Colorado Springs Police Department where he oversees more than 400 personnel. He has also worked for the agency as the deputy chief for the Patrol Operations Bureau, a commander over management services, a patrol commander, a special victims unit lieutenant and a protective security section lieutenant.
Joel F. Fitzgerald Sr.
Joel F. Fitzgerald Sr., 53, has served as police chief and other leadership roles in several major cities, most recently Denver, Colorado.
Fitzgerald, who is Black, earned his bachelor's in liberal arts from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, master's in business administration from Eastern University in Pennsylvania and doctorate in business administration and public administration from Northcentral University in California.
He served as chief of police and emergency management for the Regional Transportation District in Denver, Colorado, from 2022 until September. He served as chief of police in Waterloo, Iowa, from 2020 to 2022; deputy chief for the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office in 2020; chief of police in Fort Worth, Texas, from 2015 to 2019; chief of police in Allentown, Pennsylvania, from 2013 to 2015; chief of police in Missouri City, Texas, from 2009 to 2013; and a commanding officer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1992 to 2009.
Philip D. Lukens
Philip D. Lukens, 46, is the president of a consultancy firm for police agencies who has previously worked as a police chief for a small city in Nebraska.
Lukens, who is Native American, earned his bachelor's in criminal justice from Colorado Technical University in 2016 and took advanced courses in criminal justice from the University of Northern Colorado.
He has served as president since 2023 of the Colorado-based firm Community Connect, which helps police agencies implement evidence-based community policing practices and artificial intelligence. He served as police chief in Alliance, Nebraska, from 2020 to 2023; senior pastor of Carr Community Church in Colorado from 2017 to 2020; acting operations commander and sergeant for the Louisville Police Department in Colorado from 2016 to 2019; and several positions up to corporal for the Erie Police Department in Colorado from 2003 to 2016.
Marcus K. Overton
Marcus K. Overton, 40, is a federal police officer for the U.S. Department of Defense in Maryland.
Overton, who is Black, studied at Bethel University in Tennessee from 2016 to 2017 and at the University of the District of Columbia in 2018.
He has worked as a federal police officer for the Department of Defense in Maryland since 2022. His previous experience includes short stints at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.; the Clayton County Sheriff's Office in Georgia; the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility in Mississippi; Protective Services Police in Washington, D.C.; the University of the District of Columbia; the Meridian Police Department in Mississippi; the Pike County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi; the McComb Police Department in Mississippi; and the Tunica County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi.
Keith A. Toomey
Keith A. Toomey, 55, is deputy chief of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement in Virginia.
Toomey, who is White, earned a bachelor's in accounting from Albright College in Pennsylvania and a master's in administrative science from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
He oversees domestic and international operations of almost 500 employees as deputy chief of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement in Virginia, where he's worked since 2006. He also has worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General, Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey and the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.
Jeffery S. Young
Jeffery S. Young, 52, is the deputy police chief in Lake Stevens, Washington.
Young, who is White, earned a bachelor's in human services with a specialization in criminal justice from Wayland Baptist University in Arizona and a master's in public administration from Webster University in Arizona.
He has worked as deputy chief of Lake Stevens, Washington, since 2022. He served as police chief of the Mill Creek Police Department in Washington from 2020 to 2021. Prior to that, he spent 25 years working for the Phoenix Police Department in Arizona, where he worked his way up to a shift commander. His experience at the agency included time in patrol, homeland defense, traffic enforcement, community relations and airport security.
The seven new applicants will compete alongside four men who applied for the position over the summer: Lafayette Police Sgt. Dorian R. Brabham, who is White; former St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office Attorney Herbert Dobler, who is White; New Orleans Police Captain LeJon M. Roberts, who is Black; and Interim Lafayette Police Chief Paul A. Trouard, who is White.
One of the original five applicants, former Houma Police Chief Dana T. Coleman, who is Black, withdrew his application and will not be considered for the position.
Estorge, who was appointed police chief in October 2022 by former Mayor-President Josh Guillory, announced her resignation in May. She was the sixth person to hold the position since 2020Ի the agency's first woman to serve as police chief.