NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — You may want to think twice before dressing up for Mardi Gras. A New Orleans man wearing a cop costume to the Krewe Du Vieux parade claims he was arrested for impersonating a police officer.
“Krewe Du Vieux is one of my favorite parades. I look forward to it, and every year I prepare my costume for months. Krewe Du Vieux is one of my favorites because it is satirical, boundary-pushing, edgy, and I like the spirit of that,” James Goodreau, a Bywater resident said.
But Goodreau’s Mardi Gras spirit was quickly broken.
“I was arrested for impersonating a police officer on Decatur Street during Krewe Du Vieux.”
He claims it happened near Aunt Tiki’s Bar because his costume must’ve looked “too real.”
“When I make my costumes, I decided it would be funny if I did a cop thing because of the policing issues, at first I thought a sexy cop, but then I started putting together a realistic one, not a dead-on, but a realistic cop outfit, costume, sweater, vest, pants, utility belt made out of cell phone cases, where at first glance, I guess it could look real,” he said.
Goodreau said the costume even had “FBI” (Female Body Inspector) written on the costume.
“I didn’t have a gun, no cuffs. The only part that was pretty legitimate was the sweater with elbow pads and shoulder pads. It was an old de-commissioned NOPD thing that are around, you can get these,” he said.
Goodreau said he didn’t have any pictures of the costume because he didn’t think to take any, before it got confiscated by officers with the New Orleans Police Department.
“That’s the frustration. I put all this time and energy into it, and it got confiscated,” Goodreau said.
He said he was cuffed. He wasn’t booked, but just issued a summons. Still, he can’t believe his costume was taken so seriously because he was at a parade.
“I will say, I should’ve considered more. I get that part. It is frustrating where I feel like the nuance of that context wasn’t taken into account. It’s the ‘Big Easy’. I like the loose, fun attitude. My hope is that doesn’t start getting regulated and diminished,” Goodreau said.
WGNO reached out to officials with the NOPD, but they declined to comment on the situation. They said that they are waiting for the paperwork related to the summons that was issued.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.