City Council - Special Meeting

I will try to keep it down to a few comments. It's going to be a little tough there. Recently, Police Chief Mike Farrell tendered his letter of retirement. He sent a letter to his charges, to the council, and to myself. After 34 years of dedicated service in law enforcement, including the past five years serving as Chief of Police, I have decided to retire, effective June 30th, 2026. Serving alongside the outstanding law enforcement professionals of the Covington Police Department has been the highlight of my career. I am deeply grateful for the commitment, professionalism, and sacrifice demonstrated by the men and women of this department each day. I'm extremely proud of what we have accomplished together over the past five years. Through teamwork, dedication, and a shared commitment to public safety, we have achieved significant successes that will continue to benefit our community for years to come. Mayor Mark, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve under your administration. I leave with great confidence in the future of this department and the exceptional individuals who will continue its mission. Respectfully, Michael Farrell, Chief of Police, Covington Police Department. If you can't be a professional, leave the profession. Chief Farrell's leadership of our police department has been stellar. Five years ago, he took a department of young officers, 70 to 80% of had less than five years experience. They had the potential to become good officers or to become bad officers, proactive officers or reactive officers. Under his command, they became professional law enforcement officers. Intuitively, from outside the department, I knew that this is what had happened. However, allow me the opportunity to share the personal experience of one of those officers, Michael Hess, who penned a letter directly to the Chief upon his retirement. Chief, congratulations on your retirement. I wanted to reach out personally and thank you for everything you have done for me and for this department. I've always looked up to you as the type of leader I strive to be. Throughout my career, I watched the way you led this department and handled its people, and I truly believe you did it better than anyone else could have. You knew when to be firm, when to be patient, and when someone needed another opportunity. That ability to lead people while still earning their respect is something I've always admired and try to emulate. I know Jordan Talley and I gave you more than a few headaches in our younger years. We were not always the easiest officers to manage, but you never gave up on us. You held us accountable when we needed it while also investing in us and giving us the opportunity to grow and mature. As I have gotten older, I've come to appreciate how much that mattered. Your leadership helped me grow as a police officer and as a person. So thank you for believing in me, for helping me grow, and for being the kind of leader who inspired people to do better, not because they had to, but because they respected you. Lastly, I know I've told you numerous times that since I've been back, but I wanna tell you one more time how grateful I am that you gave me the opportunity to come back. Since I have been back, that decision has changed the course of my career and ultimately my life. You took a chance on me when you did not have to, and I will never forget that. So I extend my heartfelt wishes to you and your family. May you all experience boundless happiness, good health, and continued success in your retirement. You've undoubtedly earned it, and I hope you're aware of the immense appreciation you hold. Even after the badges are retired and the years of service become cherished memories, the profound impact you had on individuals you led will endure. your legacy transcends mere accomplishments it resides in the lives you molded the careers you influenced and the exemplary conduct you set for all of us i am proud to have served under your leadership and i will continue to carry forward the standards you instilled in myself and others sincerely officer michael hess i'd like you all to help me thank michael hess for that for that letter So what does this mean for the community? It means that today we have officers who are capable of discretion, empathy, counseling, de-escalation, accountability, and when needed, overwhelming force. Nowhere has this been more meaningful than our historic black neighborhood, the West 30s. By simply using traffic stops as probable cause, our officers removed over 200 guns from our streets in a 24-month period, along with a plethora of drugs and the knuckleheads, often convicted felons, that possessed that contraband. Regarding the West 30s, I'd like to call upon Lieutenant Edward Masters to please come up and share the letter that he penned to his cohorts.

This evening while watching my son play baseball at Coquille Park, A gentleman from the West 30s recognized me as a Covenant police officer and approached me to have a conversation. He thanked me for my service and said that our department has done some great work in the West 30s. He also stated that for the first time in almost a decade, he feels safe walking to the store and walking around the neighborhood. He ended our conversation by telling me that we need to keep up the great work and that we should be proud. The above stated testimony is one of many that we hear from citizens in the community. These positive testimonies are a result of each and everyone's hard work. Each person at this police department has played a vital role in bringing a sense of safety and family back to a community that has been plagued with unnecessary gun and gang violence. While we still have work to do, you should all applaud yourself for the difference you are making. This is what we signed up for. This is why we put on that badge. We are seeing the results daily from your efforts. Stay safe and keep up the great work.

So Chief Farrell has had an incredible career, 34 years in law enforcement, five years as our chief. It seems like he was just meant to be here at that time. But seldom are we able to point to a data point or a metric that sums up one of our careers so perfectly as when we take this a step further in the West 30s, the number of discharged firearms per year. In the year 2020, we had reports of illegally discharged firearms in the neighborhood of 55. That's more, in your neighborhood, that's more than one time per week of hearing a gun fired. That's pretty traumatic. In 2021, that number dropped to 43. 2022, it dropped to 32. 2023, six. The next year, it bopped up to nine. Last year, 2025, it dropped to two. And so far, year to date, it's at zero. These are the numbers that encapsulate all the work that Chief Farrell has done in one metric. And it is for that and for the men he has molded, as Officer Hess indicated, and the lives that he's changed in the West 30s, as Lieutenant Masters has indicated, that we're here tonight to honor him for the work that he has done for the city and the community of Covington. Thank you.

Chief, it has been a pleasure working with you. It's been an honor working with you. When you came in, the department needed some professionalism, in my opinion, and they got it. And it has been my honor as not only council president, but chairman of the Public Safety Committee to work with you. The progress that this department has made, the funding that this council and the administration have done has made a difference.

i'm proud of that so i'm proud of you i'm thankful for you and i'm proud to call you my friend there's an additional council comments yeah um chief my grandfather's a retired police officer and uh i used to sit at the table and he would tell us all the stories about like different areas that he would go into and actually do this police work and so as a young kid i kind of had this this illusion or this vision of what I thought it was. And he said that they went into some of the worst areas and turned them around. And with you and your leadership, I got to actually see it for real. And the police force here is, I think it's the finest in St. Tammany. And it's all due to your leadership, as well as all the men and women that put that badge on and go out every day and represent the residents of Covington. So I want to thank you for five years. It seems like you've been here longer because of so much progress that you've made. And as the mayor had told us before that we had other municipalities calling and saying, what are you guys doing over there? Because all the bad guys had left and they'd gone elsewhere. Because under your watch, it wasn't going to happen. The other thing I really appreciate is that you're a straightforward police officer. You're not out there in front of all the social media and everything like that. You're just about getting results and making Covington a better place for everyone to live. And also, like Mayor Mark just talked about the gunshots and stuff, I used to get calls constantly. One of my first council meetings, I had a bullet ricochet across my windshield on the way home. And I ride my bike through the neighborhood. People are outside sitting on the porches and stuff. Everybody's having a good time and happy. And it's all a direct result of your leadership and our men and women that are out there today. So I want to say thank you. Thank you very much.

Chief, you're going to enjoy retirement.

I wish you well.

Enjoy it. Thank you for your dedicated service and leadership to our community. It's very well appreciated. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement.

My brain and my heart is just going right now just because I feel like there's a thousand things I want to say about you. But I think they're all going to say it. They're going to say it here. There's a level of respect I have for you, man, that I don't know the actual words. But I'm excited for your retirement. I know that it's well-earned. Anybody who puts a uniform on, every one of you guys, I love and appreciate. And there's a level of respect that comes with it. But to be a true leader and not just – Again, I don't, and I'm one that usually has words. I don't. So I just want to say thank you. I want to say put your head down tonight knowing that you've done it. You've done exactly what you were meant to do, and I appreciate you doing it for us.

All right, Chief. I've got a couple things to say real quick. So the first thing is tactical as opposed to practical. Staffing up. when we saw an increase in the number of officers that presented a lot of uh challenges there's obviously going to be growing pains associated with that but you you turn those growing pains into opportunity for improvement and that shows and in terms of practical as opposed to tactical as the mayor has mentioned and others guns off the streets look i can't say it's a causation that there's improved public safety as a result of that. What I will say is there, in my opinion, is an incredibly high rate of correlation. I mean, it's just that simple. It's a safer community as a result of the efforts and the efforts of your officers that you are in charge of and developing. So that's a big deal. Last but not least, your new favorite day of the week is going to be Sunday because you don't have to worry about Monday. Thank you, Chief.

Chief, yeah, just to echo everyone's sentiments, prior to my role in the council, my interaction with police officers was extremely limited, which is generally a pretty good thing. But you have been, and your entire force, has been a pleasure to work with, the professionalism, the service level, just everything. Y'all are a highlight of the city, and it's been an honor working with you, and best of luck in retirement.

Chief, would you like to say a few words?

As you all know, I'm not a man of many words, but I do thank everyone, you know, the mayor for giving me the opportunity, the council for always being so supportive, the community, you know, for really getting behind us because, you know, they all knew we had an issue, and they helped us deal with it. We didn't do it alone, so, you know, it was a joint effort. And more than anything, the many women of the Covington Police Department, these are the guys that face the battle every day and did not back down from it. And what you've seen as far as the stats go, that's an attest to that. So I thank everyone. I'm extremely proud of what we did. And I'm excited to be retired. So thank you all much.

Yes, sir. And now we will have a confirmation of a mayoral appointment for police chief, Mayor Mark Johnson.

Thank you, Council President. Chief Farrell's retirement does not come as a surprise. We did have and do have a succession plan in place. We've been aware of his retirement for the past two years and have planned accordingly. Much like I did in the years leading up to Chief Farrell's appointment, I have considered numerous candidates from various agencies. And just as with the Chief, they did not always know they were under consideration. One exceptionally strong candidate stood out. As such, he was promoted to Deputy Chief, and under Chief Farrell's coaching, has much to do with successfully running the department the past 12 months. As such, I'm very pleased to nominate for council consideration Deputy Chief Kevin Collins as our next police chief. Deputy Collins is a dedicated public safety professional, husband and father, with a lifelong commitment to service. Born and raised in New Orleans, Deputy Chief Collins built a career centered on leadership, integrity, and strengthening the community he serves. Collins has been married to his wife Maurice for 18 years and together they are raising five wonderful children.

Hi kids.

Outside of work, he is a proud family man and self-described homebody who enjoys coaching, playing, and watching sports with family and friends. Since joining the department in 2013 as a patrol officer, he has steadily advanced through the ranks, serving as a detective, Criminal Investigations Division Sergeant and Lieutenant Director of Training and Internal Affairs Investigator before being appointed Deputy Chief in 2025. Those last two are really important. Lieutenant and the Director of Training, which really is what the Chief does. He served as Director of Training and also Director of Internal Affairs. So it's the training and the coaching up balanced with the accountability that the Chief has to have for his charges. Prior to his law enforcement career, Deputy Chief Collins served as Director of Sports and Competition for Special Olympics Louisiana, where he organized and conducted competitions for athletes with intellectual disabilities across the state. Deputy Chief's educational achievements include a bachelor's of science in kinesiology from Southeastern, graduation from the prestigious FBI National Academy, and a master's degree in public safety from the University of Virginia. Again, I am very pleased to nominate as our next police chief for council consideration, Deputy Chief Kevin Collins.

Deputy Chief Collins, would you please come up?

We're going to give an opportunity to have council comments and public comments. As council president, I have had the opportunity to work with you. I have been impressed, not only with your demeanor and your intelligence, but your tenacity. because that is one of the things we so desperately need in this city. People see an issue, they see a problem, and they get one answer. And as you know, usually on a Monday, we tackle some things and we tweak and we always strive to do better, and I've been impressed by that. Thank you. So I thank the mayor for the nomination, and I'll ask if there's any additional council comments.

Yeah, I was going to make a few comments. One is you got some big shoes to fill, you know. But the other thing is that I've been really impressed with is your dedication to the citizens of Covington, the way you respond to different, you know, scenarios, whether it's the SSA traffic people or somebody that's in the West 30s or whatever. It can be challenging at times, and everything that you respond, it's well thought out. You don't go flying off, shooting from the hip, you might say. But it's really a pleasure, and everybody I've talked to that you've had interactions with has been very impressed with you. So I think it's... only fitting that you step in there and since you've kind of been doing it for a little bit yes so you know just a little bit but uh yeah i look forward to it and uh good luck thank you congratulations thank you god grace be with you

Congratulations. I'm looking forward to the PD to keep moving forward under your leadership. I know we'll miss Chief Farrell, but I know the city of Covenant residents can rest easy with you at the helm. So congratulations, Chief.

Thank you. So I don't say the repetitive things. Southeastern Kinesiology. Right here, man. Line up, baby. That's good. You're going to be on the page tonight. That's a good job, man. Congratulations. Represent. Well, it's a trick.

He wouldn't understand.

I know. I get it. I get it.

Because I didn't go to Southeastern.

You kept your hair. Good job. Super proud, man. That was great to hear. Great to hear where you're from. And I'm just excited for you. So thank you for what you're doing. Again, shoes to fill, but all the faith in the world. Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Well, I did go to Southeastern and it seems that y'all graduated with higher honors than I did. So the first thing is congratulations. I have had a chance to work with you. I appreciate your, you know, mentioned tenacity, but I'm going to say ingenuity. Your ability to think outside of the box and come up with ideas that, you know, weren't necessarily the norm, but are brilliant ideas is greatly appreciated. So, yeah, the expectations, they are high, as you understand full good and well. But the confidence in you is high. The administration thinks very highly of you. So those are two good things. So I'll finish up with , good luck. Thank you. Thank you.

So Deputy Chief and I have had the pleasure of working on several different opportunities with citizens together. And when you're meeting with some citizens and you have the police involved, you generally think this is not going to be a whole lot of fun. I was more than impressed, overly impressed with the way you handled the situations and just not that they were hot at the time, but they could have gotten, you know, very emotional and you just sort of tempered everything down and your composure and demeanor throughout those were just very impressive. So looking forward to having you as the chief. Thank you.

Well, would you like to say a few words? Now, I always caution people before a vote. You've already got some congratulations. I'll wait till after the vote. Let's do that. See? You see? That's what I'm talking about. That's what I'm talking about.

Southeastern.

Well, are there any public comments before we...

My original date to retire was when the mayor was going to leave, but when I promoted Chief Collins to the position he's in now in March of last year, I wanted to see what he can do, if he can continue to carry the torch and not making any kind of crazy mistakes and all, but the guy, he excelled. a lot faster than I thought he would, which is the reason I'm here now, because I'm like, look, I wanted to make sure he was left in good hands, because at the end of the day, we did a lot of work to get here, and I wasn't going to just leave it with someone that I didn't have nothing but confidence in that can continue to do the job. So that's why we're here, and I have nothing but confidence in him to continue to carry that torch. So very well, good selection.

Thank you, Chief. All right. I would like you to stay there. I'm not a soothsayer, but I have a very good feeling about this. I need a council confirmation vote. Roll call, please.

Councilman Callahan.

Yes.

Councilman Bushnell. Yes. Councilman Roberts. Yes. Councilman Inman.

Yes.

Councilman Burrell.

Absolutely, yes.

Councilman Bodsford. Yes. And Councilman Barrett.

Yes. Congratulations. Thank you.

All right, got the vote out the way. Thank you. I stand before you tonight with a deep sense of gratitude, humility, and responsibility as I accept the honor of serving as the Chief of Police for the City of Covington. First and foremost, I want to thank my parents. My dad passed away in 2015, but my mom is here tonight. Their hard work, sacrifice, and guidance shaped the person I am today. They taught me the values of integrity, accountability, and perseverance. and service to others. Any success I achieve is built upon the foundation they provided, and I will forever be grateful for their influence in my life. To my wife and the kiddos, thank you for your unwavering love, support, and understanding. A career in law enforcement often requires sacrifices, not only from those who wear the badge, but also from the families that stand behind them. Throughout long hours, intense investigations, and difficult days, you have been my strength and motivation. I am blessed beyond measure to have each of you by my side. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to Chief Farrell. Thank you for your leadership, mentorship, and support throughout the years. Your dedication to this department and the citizens of Covington has left a lasting impact. As you enter retirement, I wish you and the family many years of happiness, good health, and well-deserved enjoyment. And don't hurt yourself playing golf. Your service to this community will not be forgotten. To Mayor Mark and the members of the council, thank you for placing your trust and confidence in me. I do not take this responsibility lightly. I am committed to leading this department with integrity, transparency, and accountability, and also professionalism. I look forward to working together to ensure that the Covenant remains one of the safest places in our parish. And to the men and women of the Covington Police Department, thank you for the work you do every day. I've had the privilege of serving alongside many of you here, and I know firsthand the dedication, courage, and commitment you bring to this profession. The success of our department has always been and will continue to be because of the people who wear the badge and those who support our operations behind the scene. I am honored to serve as the chief, and I pledge to support you, advocate for you, and lead by example. And finally, to the citizens of Covington, thank you for your trust and support. The relationship between police department and the community it serves is built on partnership, mutual respect, and open communication. As chief, I promise to remain accessible, responsive, and committed to serving every resident, business owner, and visitor with fairness, compassion, and professionalism. Together, we continue to build a safer and stronger Covington for future generations. I am proud of what this department has accomplished, and I'm excited what lies ahead. And with God's guidance, the support of my family, the dedication of our officers and staff, and the partnership of the community, I am confident that the best days are ahead of us. Thank you guys, and I appreciate it. Thank you.

And with that, I agree. Best days are ahead.

We're watching you. Good luck. You got our support. Great night. Congratulations and thank you Chief. We're adjourned.