Citizen Crime Watch Blog

Judge Seeber Bridge repairs under way
by John McCusker, The Times-Picayune
Saturday June 21, 2008, 1:45 PM

Workers install a new motor which will power a metal traffic barrier on the Judge Seeber Bridge over the Industrial Canal in the ninth ward. The long-broken barriers contributed to the accident in which a veteran NOPD officer plunged to his death. The repairs will take a couple of days.

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Police, family pay respects to officer
Felix lauded for bravery, dedication
Thursday, May 29, 2008
By Laura Maggi, The Times-Picayune

At an emotional funeral service, members of the New Orleans Police Department on Wednesday remembered Detective Tommie Felix as a devoted police officer who always took it upon himself to go after the bad guys, even if it meant risking his life.

Detective Gabriel Favaroth, a longtime friend who attended the NOPD police academy with Felix, called him a beloved prankster, but one who could balance levity with serious police business.

“If we had one (Tommie) in each district, the world would be a better place,” said Favaroth, who choked up during his eulogy, remembering his friend and former partner.

Felix, who joined the department in 1991, died early in the morning on May 20 when his car plummeted into the Industrial Canal because of a series of mechanical and operational breakdowns at the Claiborne Avenue drawbridge.

His death marks the fourth death in the past seven months within NOPD ranks. Officer Nicola Cotton was killed in late January after a confrontation with a man in a parking lot. Sgt. Thelonious Dukes died a month after he was shot by a robber during what police have described as a home invasion. Rookie officer Matthew Schmit was killed in a car accident in December, just a few days after graduating from the police academy.

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March honors fallen officer
by Molly Reid, The Times-Picayune
Saturday June 21, 2008, 10:45 AM

More than 70 marchers are making their way from City Hall to a Central City elementary school to protest street violence and honor fallen New Orleans police officer Nicola Cotton, who was killed January in the line of duty.

After a brief prayer, the marchers set off from City Hall down Loyola Avenue, with several children holding a banner proclaiming “Youth Against Violence.”

When they reach their destination — Mahalia Jackson Elementary on Jackson Avenue — the group will dedicate a playground erected by the nonprofit builder KaBOOM! in Cotton’s memory.

“We want children to learn other ways to solve conflict,” said Travis Lyons, founder of Central City Youth Against Violence, which organized the march.

Cotton, who was 24 when she died, “was one of the people who mentored the kids on the street,” Lyons said. “If she saw them out, she ran them off, got them off the corners. And she was young. She was just a kid herself.”

Saturday’s event marked the Central City organization’s ninth annual non-violence march. In addition to members from several community groups, including the Central City Partnership and the Central City Comeback Committee, City Council members Stacy Head and James Carter participated in the march.

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ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
In an annual ritual of grief and pride, the NOPD pays tribute to its officers’ acts of selfless service
Friday, May 09, 2008
By Brendan McCarthy
Staff writer

The 21-gun salute sent shudders through Lynette Dukes and brought tears to her eyes.

Upon seeing his mother’s eyes well, 7-year-old Jalil Dukes started crying, too. Both clutched tissues, thinking of their lost family member, New Orleans Police Sgt. Thelonious Dukes.

Sitting front and center, the Dukes family took part Thursday in the NOPD’s annual police memorial, a solemn event that underscores the sacrifices made daily by its officers. “On this day, we, as a family, salute their families,” Deputy Chief Anthony Canatella said in his opening remarks.

The ceremony, one of many events held nationally to commemorate officers killed in the line of duty, coincides with Police Memorial Week.

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Grit, warmth define life of officer
N.O. bids farewell to shooting victim
The Times-Picayune
Friday, February 01, 2008
By Laura Maggi

Not long after Hurricane Katrina, in Memphis with her mother and sisters, Nicola Cotton decided she would return to New Orleans to fulfill her plan of becoming a police officer.

Her aunt, Vernell Wilkerson, urged her to stay in Memphis.

“They need police officers as well,” she recalled telling her niece.

“No, I’m going to go back to New Orleans. They need help. They are losing a lot of officers,” Cotton responded.

That kind of selfless motivation defined Cotton’s spirit, people who knew her said. She wanted to give back, eventually settling on police work as the best way to help people.

The 24-year-old, whose funeral will be held today at noon at New Hope Baptist Church in Central City, had been a police officer for only about a year when she encountered Bernel Johnson, a man described by his relatives as an occasionally violent paranoid schizophrenic.

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FINAL SALUTE
“She loved this city and was willing to pay the price to give back.”
The Times-Picayune
Saturday, February 02, 2008
By Brendan McCarthy

hen New Orleans police officer Nicola Cotton graduated from the police academy two years ago, she told her superiors she wanted to patrol “the 6th,” the district that oversees a tough triangular swath of Central City.

It’s where Cotton grew up, what she knew. It’s the neighborhood where Cotton would later peel off small bills from her pocket to give to the homeless men and women she encountered while on patrol.

And it’s the neighborhood where colleagues, citizens, family members and friends memorialized the 24-year-old officer in a flag-draped casket.

Again and again during the 90-minute ceremony Friday, pastors, police officers and politicians talked of the tragedy of the young officer whose career was cut short while on duty days earlier. They talked about her public service. Her smile. Her sacrifices.

When Cotton chose to serve the city in the hurricane’s aftermath, “We knew then that she was going to be a great officer,” Police Superintendent Warren Riley said. “She is a hero.”

Riley looked toward Cotton’s family. “I salute you,” he said, drawing his hand upward in a crisp salute. “Please knew that Nicola will never be forgotten.”

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Slain NOPD officer’s funeral set for Friday
The Times-Picayune
by Brian Thevenot
Tuesday January 29, 2008, 7:55 PM

New Orleans police have announced funeral arrangements for officer Nicola Cotton, who was fatally wounded while on duty Monday morning.

A funeral Mass will be said Friday at noon at the New Hope Baptist Church, 1807 LaSalle St. Visitation is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon, said Officer Garry Flot, a department spokesman.
Cotton will be buried be at Greenwood Cemetary, 5200 Canal Blvd.

Cotton, 24, died at University Hospital on Monday morning from gunshot wounds suffered during a scuffle with a man whose family described him as a paranoid schizophrenic with a history of threats and violent behavior. She was a two-year member of the department.

Police booked Bernel Johnson, 44, with first-degree murder following the shooting. While he has not yet been formally charged, Johnson is being held without bond.

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N.O. cop killed with own gun
by The Times-Picayune
Monday January 28, 2008, 9:57 PM

By Brendan McCarthy, Laura Maggi and Mary Sparacello
Staff writers

A New Orleans police officer was fatally shot Monday morning in Central City by a man who police initially called a possible rape suspect, but who relatives said is a paranoid schizophrenic transient with no history of sexual assault.

On Monday morning, officer Nicola Cotton, 24, approached a middle-aged man sitting in the parking lot a Central City strip of stores, Police Department spokesman Sgt. Joe Narcisse said. Police Superintendent Warren Riley said the man appeared homeless.

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Young officer devoted to work
by The Times-Picayune
Monday January 28, 2008, 8:43 PM

By Laura Maggi
Staff writer

Nicola Cotton was the kind of person who always had time for a friendly chat, even if she was hurrying off, friends and neighbors said Monday night at a vigil held in honor of the slain New Orleans police officer outside the apartment building where she lived.

Cotton, 24, was a devoted police officer, known around the Pontchartrain Oaks apartments in eastern New Orleans as somebody who had time for her neighbors, said Wanda Santa Marina, another resident.

“She was just a beautiful person,” Santa Marina said after lighting a candle in front of Cotton’s door. The doorway was crowded with teddy bears, candles, flowers and cards. The door bore a handwritten sign that read, “We love you Nicole.”

Many residents recalled that Cotton could often be seen walking her dog, a black Labrador retriever named London, around the complex and spoke with pride about her chosen profession. Her mother had recently come from Memphis for a visit, said Hope Brown, the apartment’s resident manager.

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On anniversary of son’s murder, mother still seeks answers
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Maya Rodriguez / Eyewitness News Reporter

Of the 209 murder victims in New Orleans last year, January 13 is a day to remember for one mother. It was the day 24-year-old Chivas Doyle was shot in his FEMA trailer in the Upper Ninth Ward.

Doyle was killed two days after his 24th birthday and one day after his mother’s birthday.

“He loved to see you smile. He was all about happiness,” said Marguerite Doyle-Johnston, Chivas’ mother. “Nothing he did…he didn’t do drugs, he didn’t sell drugs; he had his own business.” …

One year later, Doyle’s killer still remains at large – a source of frustration for those who knew him.

“He was a good person and for somebody to take him off the earth, that’s bad,” Nero said. “That ain’t a good feeling. So it’s real hard to know he’s still roaming around.”

Though the case went cold, Doyle’s mother said she still hopes that someone—anyone—will step forward with the clue that could break the case wide open.

“We have ways you can report stuff anonymously by calling Crimestoppers,” Doyle-Johnston said. “(January 12) is my 50th birthday, and I hope for a birthday gift, I find out who murdered my son.”

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 822-1111. Callers do not have to give their name and could be eligible for a cash reward.

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Anti-crime activists issue plea to cops, citizens
Murder victims’ names ring out
The Times-Picayune
Saturday, January 12, 2008
By Laura Maggi

Beginning and ending with a solemn reading of the names of the more than 200 people killed in New Orleans since thousands of citizens took to the streets last year, anti-crime activists asked for more action from city leaders and called on average citizens to help stem the violence on the streets.

Several relatives of murder victims joined the crowd of at least 50 people who attended the news conference and memorial on the steps of City Hall, along with City Councilman James Carter, Police Superintendent Warren Riley and several members of Riley’s command staff. Mayor Ray Nagin did not attend, nor did the majority of the City Council.

“It’s too late for these victims,” said Nakita Shavers, 20, the sister of slain musician Dinerral Shavers. “It’s not too late for our city.” After her brother’s death in December 2006, Shavers joined the group Silence is Violence to urge more people to become involved in anti-crime activities.

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Man was part of tragic pattern
No public outrage in Central City death
The Times-Picayune
Friday, January 11, 2008
By Katy Reckdahl

Jerrell Jackson measured 5 feet, 6 inches, and was a youngster everyone liked to be around.

“He was a very kind-hearted, friendly, loving person,” said his mother, Laverne Thompson, 46, a petite woman who stands about as tall as Jackson, her youngest son.

Jackson, 21, was killed on June 19 — Father’s Day — in Central City, exactly one year after five young men were shot and killed in the same neighborhood in a case that made national headlines. Police said they have no leads in Jackson’s killing and noted that he had been hit by bullets in three other incidents that year.

In some ways, Jackson’s unheralded death is typical of New Orleans murders, which overwhelmingly affect young African-American men and often have little chance of being solved.

No one launched a protest march over Jackson. No one shook a fist at a crime march for most of the people who died on New Orleans’ streets. But every murder victim leaves behind suffering family and friends, who ache each time they see news coverage of yet another killing.

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Silence is Violence and the Dinerral Shavers Educational Fund are hosting a benefit at Tipitina’s tonight with the Hot 8 Brass Band, Soul Rebels Brass Band, Rebirth Brass Band, Shamarr Allen, and the Rabouin Marching Band.

Tickets cost $15 and will benefit the Dinerral Shavers Educational Fund.

Friday, 1/11/08, 9 p.m., Howlin’ Wolf