Lafayette Parish’s sheriff won’t seek re-election

LAFAYETTE (AP) — After more than 14 years in office, Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mike Neustrom will not seek re-election in the fall.
At a press conference Monday, Neustrom said he won’t run again because he wants to “do something different” and have more time with his children and grandchildren. The 67-year-old Neustrom lost a daughter to cancer in September.
His term expires in July 2016 and Neustrom said he plans to serve out his term.
“I’m leaving with no regrets,” he said.
There are eight to 10 people in the top tier of the sheriff’s office who could do the job, and there are qualified people outside the office capable of handling the job, Neustrom said.
Neustrom declined to say who on his staff is considering running for the office.
Neustrom grew up in New Iberia and attended the former University of Southwestern Louisiana, now University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he studied sociology and played football on two conference championship teams.
He served as director of University Police at USL from 1970 to 1974, then moved to Texas where he earned a master’s degree in police science and a doctorate in criminal justice.
Neustrom returned to Lafayette, spending 26 years teaching criminal justice at Louisiana-Lafayette and was director of the Acadiana Law Enforcement Training Academy.
Neustrom was elected sheriff and took office in 2000, beating six other candidates seeking to replace Sheriff Don Breaux.
Neustrom said he may consider returning to teaching at the Louisiana-Lafayette and wants to continue working with the nonprofit AMIKids.
Neustrom said he will also continue to work with a Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee formed about a year ago and comprised of representatives from local police departments, judges, the district attorney’s office and school system. The committee’s goal is to communicate and work together to address potential problems before they emerge.