To say there are problems inside the New Orleans Police Department would be an understatement. The department’s lack of staffing has been well documented on my show and throughout the media, but citizens may not know about the rest of the issue until the curtain is pulled back. I spoke with Eric Hessler, Attorney for the Police Association of New Orleans, specifically about what is leading officers to flee the NOPD.
How do you sum up the state of the NOPD today?
I think the manpower issue kind of sums it up for us. Police officers are leaving at a rate that's never been seen before in history. The NOPD is experiencing its lowest staffing levels in more than 50 years. The city needs to look at why they're leaving. PANO has done that and we have talked to our members. We've interviewed people who are leaving, who are waiting to leave or trying to leave. We know the actual problems, and salary is certainly part of it, but it's not the big picture.
Do we actually really know how many police officers are available for active duty each and every day?
In a ballpark figure, we believe that the NOPD has about 450 to 500 officiers on the streets patrolling in a 24 hour period.
Explain some of the skepticism about the city’s history of not living up to their commitment as it relates to police pay and pay raises.
Most, if not all, of the litigation we have is regarding pay and promotions. All you have to do is look back in recent history to see that the NOPD’s promises to pay are broken promises. For instance, in 2016, the city promised and passed rules allowing for merit-pay raises for employees, up to 3.75% a year in an effort to increase the salary, retain officers and attract officiers. Here we are in 2022 and not one single employee has ever seen such a raise.
You say it’s not just about the money. What are some of the other issues contributing to the low morale and lack of retention in the NOPD?
The main problem in the NOPD is that it has a disciplinary system that is broken and ineffective. It’s being weaponized against its own officers.
Explain how their Public Integrity Bureau is having a demoralizing effect.
I represented an officer who was involved in the most violent, physical arrest situations I've seen on a body camera in years. Seven other supervisors who viewed that video prior to PIB viewing the video agreed that the officer was 100% justified. PIB does a self-initiated complaint against the officer and knowingly falsified information to include in their report. Fortunately, PIB’s argument fell flat.
