Chad M. Adams named Morgan City police chief

Morgan City’s new police chief hopes to re-establish some of the personal contact between officers and the public that has been lost during the COVID pandemic.

The new chief is Chad M. Adams, appointed by Mayor Lee Dragna and confirmed Tuesday by the City Council.

Adams succeeds James F. Blair, who spent the last seven of his 30-year career with the MCPD as chief before resigning in May, and Mark Griffin Jr., who has served as interim chief.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Adams said in an interview Wednesday.

One challenge awaiting Adams is working in a post-COVID environment.

“We’ve lost that face-to-face contact,” Adams said.

The challenge is made more difficult by turnover in the department.

When Blair presented his resignation to the City Council, he said the department had seen 40 resignations or retirements within the previous three years, a turnover rate he said isn’t sustainable.

Blair blamed much of the turnover on the level of police pay. He said new officers in Morgan City were getting $12.09 per hour, $4 less than the average for departments between Franklin and Houma.

The City Council approved a $1-an-hour increase for entry-level employees and made plans to search for more money.
Adams said Wednesday that he has been talking to the mayor and council members about a plan to raise police pay. He said he hopes the plan will be announced in December or after the first of the year.

“We’re trying to make sure officers have training and continuing training,” Adams said. “It’s hard when you’ve got a turnover rate like that.”
High turnover also means new officers are assigned to zones that they’re not familiar with.

“That makes a big difference,” Adams said.

One bit of recent news has improved the financial outlook for the department. The city government has entered an agreement under which the St. Mary Parish School Board will pay for the school resource officers the MCPD provides.

Currently, that’s one full-time resource officer and one part-time.

Adams has been with the Morgan City Police Department since he was hired as a corrections officer in 1996.

He became a police officer in 1997. He served as K-9 officer 2000-07 and was promoted to sergeant in 2008.
Adams worked in investigations 2009-14 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2015. From 2015-20, he was a supervisor in the Patrol and Corrections divisions.

He was promoted to captain in 2021.

Adams is a Bayou Vista native and Berwick High graduate. He and wife Michelle have four children.

“I appreciate my wife and children standing by me while I served the community,” Adams said.