A New Orleans Police officer who responded to a single-car crash involving former U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond did not test Richmond for intoxication, despite describing him in the police report as "disoriented" and having slurred speech, according to a report from WWL-TV and The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate.
The wreck happened April 23 along North Claiborne Avenue. An ambulance took Richmond to the hospital for evaluation after the crash.
According to the incident report, the officer "did not detect an odor of alcoholic beverage" when speaking with Richmond. An NOPD spokesperson said there was no reasonable suspicion for the officer to administer a field sobriety test.
The incident highlights how DWI enforcement from NOPD has steeply declined as the department has lost police officers. There were just 69 DWI citations and arrests last year. In 2011, there were 1,319.
