The Coalition of the Swilling

No wonder the NOLA police department has such a sterling reputation.

Can I just ask the silliest questions because who else will? Why break the rules on your last day of work with your retirement at stake? Does it seem worth the risk in a closely scrutinized police department?

I guess he thought he was making a little statement for dept. tradition, Rob. Plus, I imagine that since his last day probably consisted of going to lunch and cleaning out his desk, as opposed to interaction by the public who would get horribly confused by his shirt color, he figured it wasn't such a big deal. Also, since the dept. had recently announced that they were going back to the blue shirts I can imagine thinking that certain brass noses wouldn't get all out of joint.

He said, after the fact, that he was honoring those who had fallen in the blue shirts. I think he could have done that differently. Don't you? He's in the most scrutinized police department in the world. They've got citizens in New Jersey watching over them for the slightest hint at impropriety. :) He knowingly broke the rules. He should accept the consequences gracefully.

Well, I'm not actually watching over him, though; I'm just commenting on a media report. And I think that the NYPD and the LAPD get a tad more scrutiny than the NOLAPD (because they have much deeper pockets for the lawsuits to reach for when ill-doings are found).

He knowingly broke the rules, yes. I don't know the guy from Adam, he could be the world's biggest putz or he could be Andy Griffith. But it seems to me that suspending a guy on his last day of work for wearing an old uniform shirt, one that he wore for 30 years and one that you've agreed to bring back in a few months, shows very poor management ability.

He wasn't suspended, only reprimanded. He's being treated like everyone else and I think that's excellent management. Poor public relations maybe, but excellent management. Trouble starts when you start making exceptions. Both parties will come out of this fine. Retiree may have to wait an extra week or two for his first pension check and the department can truthfully say that they treat all of their officers the same. First day, last day, it shouldn't matter. It may be tough but it's fair and that's all that anyone ever claims they want.

Yes, I see the second story states "reprimand." But I still think this is horrible management. How much 'executive time' has been wasted on this? How much Dept. resources? Internal investigation? For a blue shirt? A good manager would have said "have a nice life with your blue shirt, Bobby" and that would have been the end of it. Sorry, someone in the chain of command should have said "this is retarded and we will look like idiots."

Especially when in the same article it mentions the case of Donyell Sanchell

(quote)...who last weekend led Crescent City Connection police on a high-speed pursuit, then allegedly grazed a bridge officer with his vehicle and slapped him. He was cited with a municipal summons for battery and issued traffic citations."

"I will render the most appropriate decision," Riley said of the possible punishment, which he noted could range from a reprimand to termination.(unquote)

What about arresting his ass and throwing him in jail like you'd do to any normal citizen?

So...wear blue shirt = drive at 90 in a 50 zone, resist calls to stop, slap a cop (but all done while wearing the proper black shirt)?

I'm exaggerating a bit, of course, but to me this is horrid management.

Apples and oranges because that was a different police department chasing him. The bridge police don't have a jail and I'm not sure what their authority is. I think he would have been thrown in jail had he done that in New Orleans. I agree. He should be in jail.

Sanchell has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation, which is the most the police chief can do. I think he's toast.

I think he did do it in NOLA:

"The truck then continued to the New Orleans Police Department's First District Station on Basin Street.

Video shows an altercation shortly thereafter in which Sanchell appeared to strike one of the CCCD officers with an open hand. "

Do they have "hot pursuit" rules, allowing officers to operate/arrest in different jurisdictions?

This is where my ignorance comes in, Mr B. I don't know what the CCCD's authority is.

Could be the CCCD officer didn't have the cojones to arrest a First District officer in front of the First District Police Station but that's strictly a guess.

"Do they have "hot pursuit" rules, allowing officers to operate/arrest in different jurisdictions?"

Fresh pursuit is a doctrinal extension of the idea that an officer outside his jurisdiction can still effect a citizen's arrest for a crime committed in their presence, just like anyone. As such, unless Louisiana law expressly forbids it, I'd be sure they can.