New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said she had hired former New York Police Commissioner William J. Bratton as a consultant during a tense city council meeting Wednesday as officials and residents sought answers over security lapses after a terror attack that killed 14 people in the French Quarter.

Kirkpatrick also told councilmembers she won't step down, ABC reports.

“I will not resign,” Kirkpatrick said. “I believe I can be that person to lead us forward.”

Kirkpatrick assumed a defensive stance as the city council prepares to launch its own investigation into the street barrier systems within and around Bourbon Street, where on New Year's Day an Islamic State group-inspired attacker drove his F-150 truck around a police car blockading the street and rampaged down the city's most famous thoroughfare.

Bollards, protective columns designed to block vehicle traffic, had been removed from the entrance of Bourbon Street because the city was in the process of replacing them. However, the replacement barriers being installed are not designed to stop a fast-moving truck, according to a Nola.com report.

Bratton specializes in risk assessment and response with the New York-based firm Teneo. Bratton's contract is being paid for by the nonprofit New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation, Kirkpatrick said.