NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — “The New Orleans Police Department is in shambles,” said Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.
Landry’s comments on the state of the NOPD are being echoed by city leaders, who said they agree with Landry’s policing policy.
“Working together is going to get us a safer city. The impacts of the consent decree. The harm, I would say, overall, that it’s caused, but we have made sure that we’ve utilized the resources that the consent decree did usher in to make sure that we are at a phase of substantial completion,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
Landry believes it will take a decade to rebuild the NOPD, a timeframe NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said is too long.
“Two-year timeline, for me, is my timeline for getting us back to where we should be without compromise. So, it will not lower standards,” said Kirkpatrick.
Col. Robert Hodges said the partnership with state police is moving along, with 40 troopers already on board.
“Once the governor and our team agree along with the NOPD on our deployment and our strategy we will share some of those things with you all,” said Hodges.
Kirkpatrick sees it as an asset, keeping the entire city and its visitors safer.
“Absolutely going to help us, particularly with calls for service and our response times. They are also going to help us with dealing with our violent crime and the initiative that we are working on. It is always a help from all of our partners,” said Kirkpatrick.
Cantrell said she and the governor have not spoken yet about the plan, and the timeline for the troop is still up in the air.
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