New Iberia Police Chief Todd D’Albor first took his position with the police department in early December of last year, after he was screened by a hiring community made up of local residents and then approved by the New Iberia City Council. 

After that, he quickly got to work setting up the priority list needed to start a police department from scratch. Much of that comprised of hiring the right people, and D’Albor quickly became of the same committee that initially interviewed him. 

“The hiring board was great,” D’Albor said. “It was transparent, it took the politics out of it which I liked. We had two local ministers, a local businessman and a fire chief. Then we had the City Council invited to watch the whole process.”

A common complaint at the time was that the NIPD would be hard-pressed to find a sufficient number of officers, especially since other Acadiana law enforcement agencies have all faced shortage problems. 

But when all was said and done, D’Albor said the committee and senior staff screened more than 170 resumes. A few positions are still waiting to be filled, but the chief said the PD is ready to hit the ground Sunday.

“I heard it alot, there were chiefs in other places that were saying there was no way that we’ll get this done, its a failing project,” D’Albor said. “If you talk to the people here, this is an opportunity to get it right, to be part of an agency with no bad habits, to be part of policing where we can start fresh.

“The bad habits are what we make here. People are jumping on with that, I found that out and you get humbled in the process.”

That senior staff consisted of an assistant chief and three captains, all of whom are police veterans and share a core philosophy of community policing. 

Assistant Chief

Brandon Williams started his first day as assistant chief for the NIPD Dec. 11, ending a 12-year-career with Louisiana State Police.

Before that, Williams worked for the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office and the former New Iberia Police Department in his early 20s. 

Williams said he made the jump to the NIPD simply because New Iberia is his community. 

“They had people tell me this is crazy, and by other people’s standards I guess I was,” Williams said. “But at the end of the day I’ve been tasked with going all over this state to working communities just like this, but I come home to a community that’s in need.

“I live here, I shop here, I worship here, my kids go to school here. If I go out to help another community be better and I come back and see what’s happening here, it’s like what’s wrong with this picture?”

In the past Williams has considered himself a leader and mentor to those working under him, but to have the opportunity to create a completely new policing culture was a brand new challenge that he felt he couldn’t pass up.

“That was one of the things that I felt, everything felt right,” he said. “I’m a praying man, so I prayed about it. I didn’t take the commitment lightly because I know what it entails. It’s a lot of responsibility, but here’s my opportunity to go ahead and say I was a part of doing this right.”

The assistant chief said he wants a community police force that will roll down the windows and talk to the residents of New Iberia. 

“The mayor says it simple, we have to be Chik-Fil-A,” Williams said. “It’s true, it’s the simplest of terms that everybody can understand. When you go to that restaurant, it’s pleasant from the time you walk in to the time you sit down and the time you leave. It’s a true statement and it should be that way.”

Criminal Investigations

The resume behind NIPD Capt. Corey Porter may be one of the most impressive in the entire roster. 

The Texas City, Texas native has spent years at the Houston Police Department, New Orleans Police Department and Orleans District Attorney’s Office. 

But Porter’s attraction to New Iberia stems back to his childhood. Both of his parents were Iberia Parish natives, and as a child he would often spend the summers and holidays in town. 

“Being that my parents were from here, I always came here when I was a kid and I always liked the city,” Porter said. “Then the department started from scratch. Being the places I’ve been, it seemed like it would be a good thing to come and put the rest of my time in here.”

The diversity in experience among the NIPD’s senior staff has been one of the best experiences so far for Porter. 

“I’ll tell you I’ve been here since April, and being with the staff and their range of experiences, just to sit down and see where we need to be has been the greatest thing, and everybody is on the same page about it,” Porter said. “Other places, people are like ‘We don’t need this, we don’t need that.’ We have a group of management who discuss things about what’s best for the city.”

Porter oversees about 18 staff members in his division, and said the administration’s commitment to the technology required to have a competent investigations division has been a good sign. From the laptops in NIPD vehicles to the investments in state-of-the-art technology, Porter said the money has been well spent. 

“With the image we want to bring to the city, if someone sees our cars on July 1 on the street, they’re going to see this city has a lot of love and passion about their image. I tell people all the time we’re up front trying to grow, and I think the city will grow along with us.”

Porter said he’s fully invested in seeing that growth, and has even moved inside city limits so he can experience that growth firsthand in the coming years. 

“You have officers that see the opportunity for growth, this is definitely challenging and they want to be a part of something bigger than them,” he said. “That’s the type of officer that we were able to acquire. The way we brought things together, I can’t see anything but great things happening.”

Patrol

With more than 40 officers under his command, Capt. John Babin by far leads the brunt of the New Iberia police force. 

The officers in the patrol division will take to New Iberia’s streets, and with that comes enforcement of city ordinances and presumably an end to the notoriously lax speeding enforcement within city limits. 

Babin is a veteran with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, having spent 34 years working at the department and only recently retiring. Like his fellow senior staff members, the captain said he took the job because it was a challenge. 

“I retired and initially thought about doing a little fishing and traveling, and quickly realized I’m not ready to quit yet,” Babin said. “They offered me a position here and I took it.”

Babin isn’t a stranger to New Iberia, having moved here six years ago after getting married. Like his fellow captains, he said the past few months has been a unique challenge, but one that only gets more exciting every day. 

“It was a challenge,” Babin said. “A lot of people we interviewed, when you asked them about it, some of them quit positions that they were comfortable in. They wanted something different, something new. It was refreshing to hear, they’re ready to go to work.”

The captain will also oversee transportation and communications in the NIPD, and said one of the biggest parts of the job in recent weeks has been police bureaucracy, retrieving the necessary paperwork and getting everything in order before July 1. 

Professional Standards

Capt. Seth Pellerin also has his own connection to New Iberia, having started his career with the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office in 1996 and serving more than 10 years in that office. 

Pellerin said he got his start at the Iberia Parish Jail in 1996, but eventually went to the police academy in 1998 and landing a job in narcotics. 

That was when Pellerin met Todd D’Albor, who was working as a lieutenant in narcotics at the time. That meeting is what eventually led to Pellerin making the switch to the NIPD this year. 

“I had been knowing Todd since 1998,” Pellerin said. “I believe in what he believes in and his ability to get things done and make things happen. That’s why I wanted to be a part of this.”

Pellerin said internal affairs has always had a bit of a stigma attached to in police departments, but wants to uphold a philosophy of supporting NIPD officers as they grow into their new roles. 

“Lately I’ve been coming here and trying to let the people here know just how important and how special this opportunity is,” Pellerin said. “Starting a department from scratch, there’s no preconceived notions, it’s going to be what we make it.

“The whole internal affairs division just has that stigma on it, the police of the police. The way I look at it, I want it to be something different. The way I explain it to the people here, we are a support unit to the people of this agency.”

For the past two weeks, NIPD officers have been training at the New Iberia Senior High auditorium, getting the required credits for reporting, body cams and crime investigation. 

“The smiles we have coming out of that room is a sight to see,” D’Albor said. “I believe strongly it’s what the community is going to see. There are going to be bumps, no doubt about it. But this city’s police department, we’re ready. Sunday!”