NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The New Orleans Police Department has opened an internal investigation following a double shooting Saturday morning.
“We do take all these situations of domestic violence very seriously,” said NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.
NOPD detectives say it appears to be a murder-suicide involving a man and a woman in the Leonidas neighborhood.
“It is the coroner who officially makes those determinations, but from the scene itself, it appears to be a murder-suicide,” said Kirkpatrick.
However, now, mounting questions surrounding the NOPD’s response time frustrated neighbors. They informed NOPD Deputy Superintendent Hans Ganthier that they’d called numerous times before police showed up.
“We have opened a PIB, formal disciplinary investigation on this just to make sure, not only to let the family know what happened but also make sure our officers are held accountable for any issue they may have had with that,” said Ganthier.
Kirkpatrick says they were called to the residence earlier in the night.
“The officer did go out. The officer did try to make contact at that house. So, we can’t go into a lot of details but that gives you an indication that there is more. We just want to put it all into context and not piece mail it too much,” said Kirkpatrick.
Kirkpatrick says the department plans to look into it, starting with when the first 911 call was placed and when the bodies were discovered.
“That’s the only way we will know how to improve. If there is an issue, we will improve it. We will correct it and improve and there may even be that there weren’t any issues that were in violation of policy,” said Kirkpatrick.
The Orleans Parish coroner later identified the victims as 40-year-old Felicia Cooper and 45-year-old Raymond Cooper.
The investigation is still in its early stages, and additional information has not been released.
New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno issued a statement.
“I am deeply concerned about information being reported regarding the response to calls for assistance prior to and immediately after what appears to be a domestic violence murder-suicide. NOPD Chief Kirkpatrick has initiated a Public Integrity Bureau investigation, which certainly seems warranted. I will continue to demand, as I have for many years, for domestic violence to be recognized as the urgent, severe and dangerous situation that it is. Particularly when strangulation is involved or there is a firearm in the home, domestic violence can lead to deadly consequences.
That’s why in 2014, as a state legislator I authored bills that created some of the strongest protections for victims of domestic violence, including prohibiting possession of a firearm for an offender under a protective order. An issue that was challenged but the US Supreme Court recently upheld.
There is a lot of secret, shame, and silence associated with this crime, which is why it is so incredibly critical that when survivors or people who care about them take a risk and courageously reach out, we as a city cannot fail them. I am keeping in my prayers family members, friends, and neighbors impacted by Saturday’s tragedy.”
Anyone with additional information can call the NOPD’s Homicide Section at 504-658-5300 or Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111.
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