A 27-year law enforcement veteran with strong ties to the Monroe area has been appointed the City of Monroe’s next Chief of Police. Mayor Friday Ellis appointed Victor “Vic” Zordan late Friday following a week of extensive interviews by the Mayor and a committee of top officials designated by the Mayor. Zordan was one of ten eligible candidates for the Chief of Police position.
“Vic Zordan distinguished himself as a clear leader who embodies solid traditional law enforcement experience and a vision for how policing must evolve to work in a modern society. I am confident he will work to ensure the Monroe Police Department is regarded as a premier entity that can provide the best service to its citizens,” Ellis said.
Zordan, who is 50 years old, served a brief stint in the Monroe Police Department but has been a federal agent with United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for the past 24 years, with the last 20 being spent in the Monroe area. He has worked extensively with United States law enforcement agencies and the Department of Justice, the Metro Narcotics Unit and the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Zordan has led a distinguished career and has been awarded numerous acclimations as a federal agent. 2 of 2 Zordan calls the Twin Cities his home. In 1988, he attended NLU, now ULM, where he played on an athletic scholarship. In his senior year at NLU, he was voted as team captain and earned All-American status.
After graduating college, Zordan decided to remain at home. He first applied for and was employed by the Monroe Police Department from 1993-1996. But Zordan saw a need in the community for officers who focused on drug crimes. In 1996, he applied for and found a job with the DEA. He trained in Quantico, Virginia and was assigned to Dallas, Texas after training.
In 2000, Zordan and his family relocated to the Monroe area so he could continue his drug enforcement work and be closer to home. He has remained here since. Zordan has worked a seventeen-parish area fighting drug crimes and renewed his focus on eliminating drugs in our community.
Zordan is currently engaged to Jill Santone, an English/Language Arts teacher in the Ouachita Parish School System. He has two sons: Gunnar, who will be graduating from Louisiana Tech this fall as an Education major; and Tanner, who just started his freshman year at ULM and is planning to major in Accounting.
“We believe that Vic Zordan is the right person to lead our police department into the next era of growth and progress for our city. His background, as a highly regarded federal agent working in gun and drug enforcement, will help us address the immediate problems facing our community,” Mayor Ellis said. “Our society is at a critical juncture where law enforcement and communities are concerned. We believe Chief Zordan will help reconcile our differences, find our similarities and bring a fresh approach to policing that this City has been seeking.”
