The Cantrell Administration and the City Council both agree there is a lack of law enforcement manpower these days. With it increasingly obvious that NOPD won’t be able to staff up in the short term, could city leaders turn to the state for additional help? If so, from where?
Could it be the National Guard? No. Deployment outside of a declared state of emergency is extremely unlikely to happen according to state sources. It would require a request from the city to the Governor and then the Governor would have to sign off. Those sources say there’s been no talk of that request being made. There’s also an open question as to whether the National Guard has the skillset or capability to handle run-of-the-mill law enforcement outside of disasters.
With one option off the table some, including members of the City Council, say State Police could be the key to relieving NOPD. City council members note NOPD had to work over 5,000 traffic accidents on the interstate last year, which they say took away from cops' ability to address violent crime.
For that to happen though Mayor Latoya Cantrell would have to formally request State Police assistance in New Orleans. Political analyst Clancy DuBos said that’s because Orleans Parish has the unique designation of being the only parish where State Police are not authorized to go in and have jurisdiction.
“It’s a state law that was passed after Huey Long sent in the State Police in the 19-late 20s or early 30s, as his personal storm troopers to go against his political enemies and in the wake of that the Legislature, after Huey was gone, they passed a law saying State Police cannot go into New Orleans unless they are invited by the Mayor,” said DuBos, who mentioned the law in his recent column.
DuBos said the Mayor needs to make that request, since short-term NOPD reinforcements appear unlikely.
“The Mayor can end that with a phone call,” said DuBos.
Mayoral spokesman Beau Tidwell was asked about the prospect of having LSP supplement NOPD’s law enforcement responsibilities. He did not indicate whether the Mayor had made a formal request for a permanent State Police presence but said “conversations” about additional LSP assistance have been ongoing between Mayor Cantrell and Governor John Bel Edwards.
“The manpower issue is not confined to NOPD, every law enforcement agency in the country is struggling with manpower issues right now,” said Tidwell. “Obviously everybody wants to put every resource we can to make available to do this, but the manpower is simply not there.”
LSP is set to deploy around 100 troopers to New Orleans for Mardi gras, but there are no indications, so far, that their stay will be extended.
The embattled department is also facing its own staffing issues, and controversy related to allegations of “gross misconduct” in several high-profile incidents involving Black motorists. Last year Black state lawmakers requested a full federal investigation into LSP, alleging the department systemically violated the civil rights of Blacks. There is also an ongoing federal investigation into the death of Ronald Greene, who was fatally beaten to death by troopers in 2019 in Ouachita Parish.
