Nearly a dozen NOPD officers are now under federal investigation for allegedly fudging their work hours and double dipping with off-duty details - officials have confirmed what was revealed in Friday's article in NOLA.com by John Simerman. The city also confirmed that an internal investigation found Captain Sabrina Richardson, who was the head of NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau, committed a myriad of violations related to those off duty details. A report of these findings has been sent to District Attorney Jason Williams for review of possible criminal charges against Richardson. Six additional officers are under federal investigation, but not Richardson, at least not at this time.
Last week I mentioned that it’s the responsibility of every officer to know rules regarding off-duty details. If they don't know the rules, they need to learn them and make sure they don’t break them. I used to remind our officers all the time that they are not in the policing business, they’re in the credibility business. At any moment an officer does something for their own personal gain, it diminishes the value of law enforcement’s work, and I heard comments from the independent police monitor saying that many of the lesser infractions were due to policy confusion - on every level of the chain of command.
Folks, this is simple math! This is a breakdown in governance and in holding people accountable. This isn’t confusion or mistakes being made. The rules are not difficult. You've set yourself up for failure and you're sitting around making up lame excuses, trying to cover for this. And meanwhile, the reputation of the entity is suffering each and every day. We have to call out these failures when we see them, because it is eroding the police’s credibility, and it makes it harder for us to defend some of the harsh realities and ugly outcomes that happen during policing. The NOPD has to be focused every single day, especially on easy crap like this. A small infraction cannot be allowed!
Working police details are a privilege that allows officers to earn additional dollars. I worked them. I managed them. I know. Filling out a timesheet properly is simple. You can't be two places at one time! I’m angry, because we are better than this. When I hear these excuses from the governance structure, I am simply offended!
