Mayor LaToya Cantrell had dinner with her bodyguard at an upscale French Quarter restaurant while he was on the clock, and the Metropolitan Crime Commission says it has the photos to prove it.
According to a letter sent by the Metropolitan Crime Commission to the New Orleans Police Department's Public Integrity Bureau, Officer Jeffrey Vappie was on duty when he and Cantrell had dinner at that restaurant. A tipster informed MCC officials of the escapade and submitted photographs to substantiate the claims.
"A known source contacted the MCC to report observing New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and New Orleans Police Officer Jeffrey Vappie dining on the balcony of Tableau restaurant (616 Saint Peter St.) in the French Quarter on Sunday, April 7th," MCC President Rafael Goyeneche wrote in his letter to NOPD Deputy Chief Keith Sanchez. "The photographs depict Mayor Cantrell sitting across from her Executive Protection Unit member, Officer Vappie, along with wine glasses on the table. The MCC was informed that Officer Vappie was on duty the weekend of April 7th. However, it is unclear if Officer Vappie was performing any executive protection duties and, if so, whether he consumed any alcohol while at Tableau."
Goyeneche then asks Sanchez and the PIB to launch an investigation to determine if Vappie committed any wrongdoing, including possible violations of NOPD policy regarding employment conflicts, moral conduct, professional conduct, and performance of duty. Goyeneche asked the PIB to investigate the following items:
--Was Vappie's meal with the mayor consistent with his executive protection unit training?
--Did Vappie have permission from his superiors to dine with Cantrell?
--Was Vappie on duty when he dined with Cantrell?
--Did Vappie consume alcohol during the meal?
--Who paid for the meal?
Vappie has previously come under fire for being with Cantrell after hours and racking up overtime pay while spending time with the mayor in an apartment in the Upper Pontalba Building. The NOPD sustained three violations against Vappie, including a violation of a performance of duty and professional conduct rules by spending time after hours with Cantrell in the city-owned apartment and by claiming overtime during those periods.
"(T)he Monitoring Team sees significant circumstantial evidence that Officer Vappie acted unprofessionally while spending extensive hours in the
Upper Pontalba apartment and while dining with the Mayor with his back to the door of the restaurant," the consent decree monitor wrote in April 2023 after it reviewed the handling of the NOPD's investigation into Vappie and his actions. "We see no reason for ambiguous 'may have violated' language in this context. PIB should state it found a violation by a preponderance of the evidence just as it did with the other two violations."
The NOPD issued a letter of reprimand to Vappie following the investigation. However, the federal consent decree monitor felt the NOPD's investigation into Vappie and its discipline of him did not go far enough. In November 2023, Judge Susie Morgan said that the NOPD violated multiple aspects of the federal consent decree governing the department during its investigation of Vappie. Morgan says those violations regarded the timeliness of the investigation, imposition of discipline, and notification of complaints.
According to Goyeneche, if Vappie was indeed on the clock during this dinner, he risks facing the same payroll fraud allegations that he faced in 2023.
"What we're seeing here on April 7, 2024, are some of the same things he was investigated for and admonished about during that investigation, and here we are seeing history repeat itself."
Goyeneche also notes that if Vappie was on the clock, he left Cantrell exposed to possible danger.
"You do not sit with the principal at the table," Goyeneche said. "Officer Vappie, by being seated at the table . . . This is even worse because not only is he not aware of who else is in the restaurant, but now he's exposed his protectee, which is the mayor, to potential threats from people that are external to the restaurant on the street."
If Vappie was off the clock, that would, according to Goyeneche, suggest that he and Cantrell are in a relationship. Goyeneche says if that's the case, Vappie and Cantrell would have professional conflicts of interest.
"Nobody really cares--they're two consenting adults--if they're involved socially," Goyeneche said. "If an officer is socially involved with one of his subordinates or someone that he's involved in--in this particular case, in providing protection for--that's an employment conflict.
"This is an issue that came up in a PIB investigation a little over a year ago," Goyeneche added, "and here we are seeing déjà vu all over again."