Right now, the New Orleans Police Department is at an historic low in the number of men and women on the force. That's led to a spike in crime in the city. A Sunday story in the Times-Picayune described the discontent of some of the officers who left the force--many of whom pointed to internal NOPD politics as the reason they left.
The head of the city's police union summed up that discontent in two words: "cronyism" and "nepotism."
"The very number-one issue is, as (one of the officers quoted in the Times-Picayune story) points out, the cronyism and nepotism (and) the disciplinary system," Captain Michael Glasser, president of the Police Association of New Orleans, told WWL's Tommy Tucker. "Basically, the Public Integrity Bureau, which is responsible for that within the police department, is the one issue that's driving police officers away above and beyond everything else, and that never changes."
Related
Related
According to Glasser, the Public Integrity Bureau is inconsistent in rules enforcement and discipline. He says the bureau protects certain officers and rigs its investigations to match the desired outcome.
"The investigations they conduct are not done well," Glasser said. "Evidence is left off. Evidence is manufactured. Statements are suppressed. Testimony is misrepresented. Videos are misrepresented, and they twist their investigations to match their outcome."
Glasser says some officers receive preferential treatment in terms of discipline.
"The same offense can be done by different officers, and they are treated completely differently," Glasser said. "One may wind up with severe discipline. The other may receive a free pass."
Glasser says officers are appreciative of the city's new bonus pay plan for officers. However, he's not hopeful that the new bonus plan will help the NOPD retain officers as long as changes aren't made to the Public Integrity Bureau.
"We certainly do appreciate it. I hope it will do what they think it will, but I don't share the confidence that it will."