NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — As the New Orleans City Council met with District Attorney Jason Williams to brainstorm solutions to the city’s crime problem, they focused on the frequent shootings on the interstate.
District Attorney Williams says he’s asked Governor John Bel Edwards for the deployment of more state troopers.
“One, so that we can deter those shootings and hopefully save the life of an innocent person who’s trying to get from point A to point B. But two, we need to make sure that if somebody shoots a gun from a moving car on the interstate — we need law enforcement presence on that interstate to follow that car,” said District Attorney Williams.
According to the New Orleans Police Department in 2021 there were 30 highway shootings in our area. Of those incidents, three were fatal. So far in 2022, there have been four incidents, half of which were fatal and all of them happened on I-10.
According to city leaders, Governor Edwards has been responsive to their requests.
“To have the state police assist our NOPD and our community, especially in an expanded way given the man power shortage that we have in New Orleans East and just the size of that district, and what we know about response times, it’s a blessing to have that help,” said Councilman Oliver Thomas.
New Orleans East residents say the uptick in violence is getting out of hand, and they’re looking forward to having more law enforcement present.
“I think more state troopers would be beneficial for New Orleans East. We’re at an extreme shortage right now. We definitely would benefit having more officers on the street,” said New Orleans East resident Lucien Quintero.
We asked Councilman Thomas how many state troopers the governor is expected to send down and how soon that’s going to happen — he says right now there’s no word on a number or a timeline. However, District Attorney Williams says he hopes there will be more troopers on the interstate before Mardi Gras.
