The East Bank Levee Authority has hired Joshua Rondeno of New Orleans to serve as superintendent of police for the Orleans and East Jefferson Levee District police departments.
Those departments also patrol the parts of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East levee system in St. Bernard Parish.
Rondeno moves to the levee authority after a long career as an officer with the University of New Orleans Department of Campus Safety, including serving as its police chief since 2022.
Earlier, he served as a special agent for criminal investigations with the Department of Justice, and as a deputy with the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office.
"He is a proven leader and law enforcement administrator with a track record of success in course instruction on constitutional and community policing, fundamentals of de-escalation, strategic policy and planning for emergency operations, as well as practical experience directing and overseeing complex criminal investigations," said a news release announcing his appointment.
Rondeno was appointed to his position by Clay Cosse, president of the levee authority's board of commissioners after the board voted in June to give Cosse appointment authority.
Rondeno takes the place of Thomas Harrington, who had just retired as head of UNO's police department when he was hired as chief of the levee authority police in August 2022. Harrington resigned from his levee authority position earlier this year.
Rondeno attended Louisiana State University, the Law Enforcement Administration command school, studied criminal justice at Delgado Community College and attended UNO.
While a corporal with the UNO department in 2015, Rondeno apprehended a former student who a police report said was stalking him.
The student attempted to steal his pistol while holding a knife to his throat, and Rondeno fired four shots at the man without injuring him. The man, who had earlier unsuccessfully requested a parking pass from Rondeno, according to a police report, was booked with attempted first-degree murder.