State Police: New Orleans cop defrauded NOPD out of $111,000

A senior New Orleans police officer is facing multiple felony charges in connection to a Louisiana State Police investigation into allegations of payroll fraud.

Authorities arrested Brandon Coleman Friday morning on 325 counts of filing false public records, 23 counts of public payroll fraud, and one count each of malfeasance in office and theft. Coleman, 39, was booked into the Orleans Parish Prison.

"The investigation began when (the New Orleans Office of the Inspector General's) investigators opened an inquiry into allegations of payroll fraud involving Coleman," Louisiana State Police officials said in a statement. "As investigators reviewed records, they discovered discrepancies between the overtime hours Coleman reported and the hours he actually worked. They also discovered Coleman’s reported work locations did not match his actual locations during some of the claimed overtime periods. Based on these findings, investigators determined that Coleman received over $111,000 in fraudulent overtime payments and submitted false public records to support those claims between December 2024 and December 2025."

According to one local watchdog, this arrest sends and important message to both the public and to the NOPD's officers. That message is: the NOPD will not tolerate payroll thieves.

"That message is being received by the rank-and-file of the police department," Metropolitan Crime Commission President/CEO Rafael Goyeneche said. "They're prepared to hold accountable officers that violate the public trust and departmental policy."

NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick echoed that sentiment in a statement issued after Coleman's arrest.

“NOPD has fully cooperated with the independent investigation into this matter and appreciates the work of the Office of Inspector General and Louisiana State Police," Kirkpatrick said. "Accountability and integrity are fundamental to this department, and we will continue to cooperate as the case moves forward.”

Goyeneche says the NOPD's brass has committed to building accountability, integrity, and public trust by implementing tracking systems and biometric time clocks that require officers to use their fingerprints to clock in to clamp down on improper overtime claims.

"I think it's critically important for the public to understand that (a) officers are being held accountable, [and (b)] the department going into 2026 implemented policies because they were aware that there were some problems with the way that overtime was being managed and supervised," Goyeneche said. They addressed those problems. So now, what we're seeing is some of the officers that abused the system are being held accountable, and I believe this is the fourth officer that's been charged with overtime fraud since last year."

What's more: Goyeneche says the new overtime controls are saving the New Orleans Police Department and taxpayers money.

"Their policies and procedures are, in fact, being reflected in lower overtime use," Goyeneche said. "We're seeing overtime in the first quarter of 2026 reduced by a quarter based on the same point in time in 2025."

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill says her office will prosecute the Coleman case.