CONSTABLE

 Term in office: March 28, 1984 to September 28, 1999 

Sal was born on September 18, 1936 in New Orleans, graduated from East Jefferson High School, and attended Loyola University and Louisiana State University. He attained POST and SWAT certification. Sal began his law enforcement career with the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office as an investigator from 1971-74. He then joined the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office (OPCSO) under then-Sheriff Charles C. Foti, Jr. During his ten years with OPCSO (1974-84), he had numerous responsibilities, including serving process for the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court judges and commanding the Subpoena and Capais Unit, eventually attaining the rank of colonel. After becoming constable, Sal was director of the Delgado Community College Campus Police Department for four years. As constable, Sal inherited an office which had changed little from its founding in 1892. He soon modernized the office by implementing many changes: becoming connected with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JPSO) radio system, obtaining marked police units for community visibility, outfitting deputy constables with full police uniform, and requiring his deputy constables to be POST certified. As a result, he was the first Jefferson Parish constable to be asked by JPSO and OPCSO to assist with emergencies and carnival parade security. For his accomplishments, Sal was named Constable of the Year in 1988 and 1989 by the National Constables Association, the first Louisiana constable to receive this honor. Not content with merely fulfilling the legal requirements for the office of constable, Sal helped raise money to provide meals for the needy of Jefferson Parish for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as Christmas toys for needy children of the Parish. Many of these needy children were identified by reading letters to Santa with the cooperation of the U.S. Postal Service. A longtime Terrytown resident Sal’s numerous professional positions included:

1. President, Louisiana Chapter,
   
2. National Constables Association
   
3.  President, Jefferson Parish Justice of the Peace and Constables Association
   
4.  Vice President, Louisiana Justice of the Peace and Constables Association; Chairman, Louisiana delegation of the  National Justice of the Peace and Constables Association.

A Captain with the Terrytown Fifth District Volunteer Fire Department ​desiring to bring his gift of public service to the state level, Sal, while remaining constable, became a candidate for Louisiana Commissioner of Elections. Shortly thereafter, he met an untimely death at age 63, forever closing a chapter in the history of the Constable’s Office. The Jefferson Parish Council soon designated the headquarters of the Home Incarceration Program at 200 Huey P. Long Avenue in Gretna as the Salvador A. Liberto Building. Abundant Life World Outreach Center in Harvey, where Sal was a devout member, also named its youth outreach center the Sal Liberto Center.

Term as Constable: September 28, 1999 to December 31, 2008

Kim was born in New Orleans and graduated in 1972 from L.W. Higgins High School in Marrero. Three years later, she met and married Sal Liberto, then a rookie with the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office (OPCSO) they bought a house in Terrytown where Kim still resides today. Immediately upon taking office in 1984, Sal appointed Kim as chief deputy constable. They were a great team; Kim used her creative reasoning to help Sal transform an office which had changed little from its founding in 1892, and Sal’s gregarious personality helped secure outside assistance as needed. To prepare herself for her new position, Kim attended and graduated from OPCSO’s academy. With her determination, their office became computerized for the first time, allowing inter-connectivity with local, state, and national vital records databases. Having radio contact with the Sheriff's Office, obtaining marked police cars, outfitting deputy constables with full police uniform, and requiring the deputy constables to be POST certified were all changes Sal made with Kim’s advice. Because she herself was the daughter of a widow who struggled to raise four children, Kim empathized with the downtrodden. She assisted Sal with his charitable programs, especially helping people who would soon otherwise become homeless.

When Sal suddenly passed away at age 63 on September 28, 1999, political observers believed Sal’s legacy had also died. While Kim, as chief deputy, immediately succeeded him as constable, she would face a special election on March 14, 2000. Precedent was against Kim in her own district – in 1964, then-Constable James Boyle also died in office, and his wife, Mary Lagarde Boyle, completed his term by appointment.  When Mrs. Boyle ran for a full term, however, she was soundly defeated in the primary election, allowing Dick Huber, Sal’s predecessor, to win in the runoff election.

But Kim was ready for an uphill battle. No ordinary housewife, she was the surviving partner of the Liberto constabulary team. The voters agreed: she earned over 77% of votes cast. Kim ran for a full term in 2002, where she garnered almost 81% of votes cast. While constable, she continued Sal’s legacy, making the constant improvements Sal would have undoubtedly made. After nine years as constable, Kim decided not to run for re-election, instead endorsing her son, Jonathan, who had considerable law enforcement experience from OPCSO, like Sal did. Jonathan won election in 2008, after his sole opponent withdrew his candidacy. Jonathan took office on January 1, 2009.