Susan Hutson | |
|---|---|
| Orleans Parish Sheriff | |
| Assumed office May 2, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Marlin Gusman |
| Succeeded by | Michelle Woodfork |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | New Orleans,Louisiana |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania,Tulane Law School |
| Website | Official website |
Susan Hutson is an American lawyer who has been the sheriff of New Orleans,Louisiana,since May 2,2022. A Democrat,Hutson is the first woman to hold the office. [1] Before becoming sheriff,she worked in criminal justice reform and police oversight.
Hutson was elected in 2021 against four-term incumbent Marlin Gusman,but lost reelection in 2025 to former interim police chief Michelle Woodfork,coming in third after a troubled tenure. [2]
Hutson was born in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,and raised in Houston,Texas. [3] She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989 and Tulane Law School in 1992. [4] [5]
For much of her career,Hutson worked in police oversight in Los Angeles,California,and Austin,Texas. [6] This culminated in her becoming the assistant inspector general for the Los Angeles Police Department from 2007 to 2010. [7] In 2010,she became the independent police monitor for the New Orleans Police Department,a position established after a successful referendum in 2008. [8] She resigned from that position in 2021 after announcing her run for sheriff. [9]
Hutson was also the president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement,a citizen police oversight organization created in 2016. [10] She also resigned from this position after announcing her run for sheriff. [11]
In April 2021,Hutson announced she would run for Orleans Parish Sheriff against longtime Sheriff Marlin Gusman,who had held the position since 2004,in the elections to be held that November. [12] A progressive,she focused her campaign on criminal justice reform and advocated against plans to expand the Orleans Parish jail. [13] She was endorsed by New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams. [14] Hutson also received a donation of $200,000 from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg,which was more than all of her other donations combined. [15]
On November 13,Hutson placed second in the nonpartisan primary election,13 points behind Gusman. [16] Because Gusman failed to earn 50% of the vote,he and Hutson advanced to the general election. [17] On December 11,Hutson won with 53% of the vote. [18]
Hutson was sworn in on May 2,2022,becoming the first female sheriff of New Orleans and the first Black female sheriff in Louisiana. [19]
In August 2022,inmates at the Orleans Parish jail barricaded themselves inside a pod and demanded better conditions,including better food and medicine,more adequate entertainment,and a washer and dryer. [20] After multiple days,a sprinkler system was activated inside the pod,and Hutson instructed personnel to break in,ending the standoff. [21] None of the prisoners’demands was considered. [22]
In April 2023,Hutson proposed a ballot measure that would have generated $11.7 million a year for the sheriff’s office by increasing property taxes. [23] The measure failed with 91% of voters rejecting it. [24]
In July 2023,federal jail monitors found that jail conditions,which started falling in 2020 under Gusman,had continued to decline under Hutson. [25] The report stated that despite cooperation from Hutson,conditions did not improve,with drug smuggling and frequent violence among inmates. [26] It attributed this decline to a lack of resources and staff. [27]
Hutson’s opposition to the expansion of the Orleans Parish jail,on which she centered her campaign,was ultimately unsuccessful after a federal judge in 2023 denied Hutson’s motion and ordered the city to begin construction. [28] Hutson denounced the decision but nonetheless vowed to follow it. [29]
In March 2023,Hutson fired four high-ranking officials from the sheriff’s office,saying the office was going through "organizational restructuring". [30] One of the officials,CFO David Trautenberg,claimed in a lawsuit that he was fired for opening an internal financial investigation into alleged "misuse of public funds". [31] It was reported that the funds Trautenberg referred to,nearly $20,000 of taxpayer money,were spent for senior staff to stay in high-end hotel rooms during Mardi Gras season,most of which reportedly remained unoccupied. [32] Hutson said there was nothing irregular about the expenditure,saying it was "money well spent". [33]
After the 2023 Mardi Gras season,it was reported that Hutson overpaid deputies who took on additional duties during the celebrations. [34] According to the inspector general of New Orleans,the payments violated state and federal law. [35]
On May 16,2025,ten inmates with violent charges,including homicide,escaped overnight by moving a toliet fixture and went unnoticed and unreported to partner agencies for over ten hours. Shortly thereafter,Hutson suspended her campaign. At the time of qualifying for re-election on July 9,2025,one inmate remained at large. She seeks to serve a second term as Sheriff of Orleans Parish. [36]
Nonpartisan primary election,November 13,2021
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marlin Gusman (incumbent) | Democratic | 35,903 (47.7%) | Runoff |
| Susan Hutson | Democratic | 26,666 (35.4%) | Runoff |
| Christopher Williams | Democratic | 6,651 (8.8%) | Defeated |
| Janet Hayes | No party | 3,230 (4.3%) | Defeated |
| Quentin Brown | Independent | 2,791 (3.7%) | Defeated |
General election,December 11,2021
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Hutson | Democratic | 31,975 (53.3%) | Elected |
| Marlin Gusman (incumbent) | Democratic | 27,987 (46.7%) | Defeated |
Nonpartisan primary election,October 11,2025
| Candidate | Affiliation | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michelle Woodfork | Democratic | 54,019 (52.9%) | Elected |
| Edwin M. Shorty,Jr. | Democratic | 21,199 (20.8%) | Defeated |
| Susan Hutson (incumbent) | Democratic | 17,469 (17.1%) | Defeated |
| Ernest Lee,Sr. | Republican | 4,614 (4.5%) | Defeated |
| Julian Parker | Democratic | 2,431 (2.4%) | Defeated |
| Bob Murray | Democratic | 2,369 (2.3%) | Defeated |