Citizen Crime Watch Blog

Off-duty escort work of St. Bernard, NOPD officers subject of probe
by Laura Maggi and Bob Warren, The Times-Picayune
Tuesday June 24, 2008, 9:45 PM

Officers within the New Orleans Police Department and St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office traffic divisions are the subjects of a federal investigation into required off-duty police escorts of oversized vehicles traveling within their parishes.

Bob Young, the head of the NOPD’s public information office, said Superintendent Warren Riley is “aware of the investigation and has been cooperating with the federal government in their investigation.”

Young said he understood that “a couple” of NOPD officers have received subpoenas to appear before a federal grand jury in New Orleans.

The federal probe stems from a complaint filed with the inspector general’s office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about police escorts required for FEMA trailers being removed from the two parishes, said St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens.

“We are working with them to determine if there are any irregularities with those escorts,” Stephens said.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten declined to comment about any federal investigation or grand jury probe.

In both St. Bernard and Orleans parishes, police escorts are required by local rules that mandate that the drivers of vehicles with oversized loads pay for the police to direct them through the parish.

Off-duty officers in both St. Bernard and Orleans parishes take their payment for the escort work directly from the driver, often in cash, said people who have used the service. Both departments require the escorts not only on local roads, but also on the federal highway, according to several representatives of manufactured-housing companies.

Stephens said his officers receive $100 for their work, which can be paid by either cash or check. NOPD officers also receive $100, according to people who have made the payments. …

Sgt. Don Kelly, a spokesman for the Baton Rouge Police Department, said escorts are not required on either Interstate 10 or Interstate 12 as they pass through that city. But if an oversized vehicle gets off the highway, it is required to be escorted by a motorcycle detail of at least one off-duty officer, he said. Escorts in Baton Rouge cost $200 regardless of how many officers are needed.

When companies apply to the state DOTD for a permit to move an oversized load, the agency tells drivers that they will likely need a police escort on local roads in New Orleans, St. Bernard Parish, Jefferson Parish, Baton Rouge and Shreveport, said Dustin Annison, a spokesman for the agency.

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