FERRIDAY &8212; Just over a month after resigning from his job at the Ferriday Police Department, Richard Madison was moving back in Friday &8212; this time, as chief.

Robert Davis &8212; Madison&8217;s half-brother &8212; resigned from the post Thursday night at a specially called aldermen meeting. Madison was unanimously appointed to replace him.

&8220;He&8217;s capable of handling the job,&8221; Mayor Gene Allen said Friday. &8220;He&8217;s very knowledgeable of that department. We want to continue to keep the level of law enforcement we&8217;ve had in the past.&8221;

Madison worked under Davis as investigator since July 2004 before resigning in January to take federal law enforcement job in California. Prior to his resignation a nepotism claim had been filed with the Louisiana Board of Ethics because Madison and Davis were brothers.

Madison said he has 36 years of law enforcement experience including time with the military police, the criminal justice department and several sheriffs&8217; departments. He also served in the Army and worked for the FPD under past administrations. He is a Ferriday native.

&8220;There will be some changes in the department,&8221; Madison said. &8220;And they&8217;ll be for the better. We are going to take it to another level.&8221;

A few things changed Friday, including the promotion of officer Margaret Lawrence to assistant chief and officer DeDe Sones to administrative support.

Both promotions showcase a goal for Madison &8212; the inclusion of more female officers and more white officers.

The other big internal goal is to improve the computer system in the office and link it to the mayor&8217;s office.

Outside the office, Madison plans to tackle drug use, improve the department&8217;s relationship with the community and the other local law enforcement agencies and start a walking or bike patrol downtown, he said.

Davis said he was confident Madison would continue the work he started, but knew there were still problems to tackle.

&8220;We&8217;ve still got a problem that most cities do have, we&8217;ve got some drug problems that need addressing,&8221; Davis said.

Davis said resigning was his decision, something he wanted to do in order to spend more time with family.

But he&8217;s not necessarily done with working for the city.

&8220;I&8217;m going to meet with the mayor and if he has something in mind, we&8217;ll talk,&8221; Davis said. &8220;I loved (being police chief), and whatever I can do for the town now, I&8217;ll do.&8221;

During Davis&8217; time with FPD they bought new vehicles, hired six new officers &8212; including the first female &8212; and installed a recording system to help with handling emergency calls, he said.

Allen confirmed Friday that he&8217;d like for Davis to work for the city in some capacity, but didn&8217;t have a specific job title yet.

Madison has also accepted the position of city grant writer, a job he was offered when he resigned from FPD in January. He said Friday he already has several grants in the works.

Madison said he spent only four days on the job in California before returning.