The new commander of the Uptown-based NOPD Second District, Jennifer Dupree (second from left), attends a September 2015 news conference with other ranking officers and (at far right) NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
A series of promotions within the upper leadership of the New Orleans Police Department has brought the Second District a new commander, but she will be a familiar face to Uptown residents.
Lt. Jennifer Dupree, who until most recently served as the assistant commander in the district, has been selected as the district’s new commander effective Friday, June 29, the NOPD announced Wednesday afternoon. Dupree succeeds Commander Shaun Ferguson, who has been promoted to lead the NOPD Education and Training Division following a number of other promotions in the department’s upper management levels.
“Dupree’s experience as the assistant commander of the Second District was one of the many factors as to why Chief [Michael] Harrison felt she is best qualified to assume command of the district,” the announcement states.
Dupree has steadily climbed the ranks in the Second District since Deputy Chief Paul Noel named her to lead its specialized task force more than six years ago, when she was still a sergeant. She was named the 2012 supervisor of the year in the district as a result of unit’s record of drug and gun arrests.
“While the officers did a great job, leadership in the field is what led to our officers doing a great job,” Noel said of Dupree’s work at the time.
In 2014, Noel appointed Dupree on an interim basis to fill a vacancy overseeing all investigations in the district while she was still studying for her lieutenant exam, an appointment that became permanent in August 2015. After Noel himself was promoted to Deputy Superintendent, Dupree’s former supervisor Ferguson returned to the district as the new commander, and he kept her in the second-in-command post for the duration of his tenure.
During that time, Dupree was a fixture at both any major community meeting involving the Second District, leading interactions with the public alongside Ferguson. She also remained a constant presence at major Second District crime scenes, staying consistent with her roots as an investigator on the ground alongside her detectives.
As commander of the Second District, Dupree will be in charge of most patrols and investigations in the swath of Uptown from Napoleon Avenue through the Audubon and university areas, Carrollton, Hollygrove and Gert Town. Dupree will also preside over the opening of the new Second District headquarters in Gert Town, which is expected to take place soon.
Dupree, Ferguson and the other newly-promoted officers will be sworn into their positions in a ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday, June 29, at the NOPD Training Academy at 4650 Paris Avenue.
