OPCD #SHOWUP Spotlight
LaCher Watson
In 2019, OPCD began our #SHOWUP Spotlight Series, designed to share the stories of our Heroes Under the Headset, who go above and beyond to serve the city of New Orleans. We are excited to continue this series by introducing you to OPCD Public Records Supervisor, LaCher Watson.
LaCher started at OPCD in April of 2016 as an Operations Supervisor, overseeing the day-to-day operations of call takers. In June of 2019, she moved into the role of Training and Compliance Supervisor, listening to calls and ensuring that they are in compliance with national standards.
In January of 2021, LaCher moved into her current role as Public Records Supervisor. As the supervisor of the department, LaCher is responsible for responding to public records received through Next Request, ensuring that each response is authenticated and including a certificate of authenticity with each request.
Prior to her employment with OPCD, LaCher was a Dispatcher and Medic for New Orleans EMS for 9 years and is still an EMT volunteer. As an EMT volunteer, she administered COVID-19 Vaccines at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She continues to ride along with EMS medics as an EMS vigor or 3rd rider on the unit, assisting medics with the 911 calls for service they are responding to.
LaCher is very well versed in the public safety field and her vast experience covering public safety from a variety of vantage points makes her incredibly valuable and appreciated here at OPCD. Not only does she extend her technical knowledge and expertise to the public record specialists she supervises, but she also makes herself available to them, through “pulse checks” as she calls them, even when away from the office or on vacation.
“It’s important to stay connected and let people know that you are here to help them,” says LaCher. “It always comes back around, and it sets a precedent for how we should treat each other. We build the community that we want to be a part of and see, whether it’s at work, at home, or in the world at large.”
If you’ve ever been to OPCD, you will find that the Public Records Department is well-decorated, and there’s a sense of community from the moment you step into it.
LaCher’s warmth and leadership extend beyond the workplace and into her home life, where she takes pride in raising two daughters. LaCher and her daughters enjoy shopping, traveling, and more specifically, going on cruises, giving them an opportunity to disconnect from the world and reconnect with each other, surrounded by the beautiful scenery that nature has to offer.
LaCher has 19 years in the public safety industry, 7 of those years here at OPCD. Thank you LaCher for your incredible service; we congratulate you and look forward to your continued leadership.