The Lens (http://thelensnola.org/author/tom-gogola/)
Tom Gogola
Tom Gogola covered criminal justice for The Lens from February 2012 to May 2013. He is a veteran journalist and editor who has written on a range of subjects for many publications, including Newsday, New York, The Nation, and Maxim. Gogola was a 2011 winner of the Hillman Foundation Sidney Award, for his groundbreaking report in New York magazine detailing regulatory waste in the commercial fishing industry.
About 250 times a day, a New Orleans police officer calls the 911 center to check in for a "paid detail" assignment — a private security job paying up to $39 an hour. Meanwhile, some people calling 911 wait so long for an answer, they hang up before reaching anyone.
On Wednesday, testimony concerned the city's involvement in the negotiations over the consent decree and conditions in the mental health unit. Sheriff Marlin Gusman will testify Thursday morning.
