A month after The Lens began asking questions about city officials’ plans to use a U.S. Homeland Security Department aerial drone to monitor Super Bowl crowds, a spokesman for Mayor Mitch Landrieu said today that the city is scrapping those plans. Spokesman Ryan Berni offered no reason for dropping the eye-in-the-sky technology, telling a reporter […]
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Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics, Investigations
Deputies working private, off-duty details pay into fund used by sheriff for questionable discretionary spending
A lucrative private-security program staffed by deputies provides Sheriff Marlin Gusman with about $100,000 in discretionary money that he uses for questionable expenditures.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics, Investigations
Questions surround DA's decision to drop charges in gun-waving cop's case
Ex-cop Devyn Swanier lost his job but not his liberty. The young man he bullied thinks justice has not been served. Experts are split on the question.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
District attorney declines prosecution for cop who allegedly brandished pair of guns
By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | A rookie New Orleans cop who resigned in April after allegedly brandishing two guns during an off-duty altercation at a gas station will not face criminal charges in the incident, prosecutors have decided. “After reviewing all of the evidence, the District Attorney’s office determined that it could […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Carnage at daughter's birthday does not make dad a foe of bar where it happened
By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Tuesday’s meeting on whether to revoke the license of a Ninth Ward watering hole made for painful memories. And yet, even though Adrian Joseph was host of the birthday party for his daughter at which an 18-year-old was shot dead and four other patrons wounded, he was […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Rookie cop quits after allegedly brandishing two guns during off-duty altercation
By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer | A rookie New Orleans cop has resigned after allegedly brandishing two guns during an off-duty altercation at a gas station on Friday, city officials said Monday. New Orleans Police Department Officer Devyn D. Swanier was booked with aggravated assault in the early morning hours Saturday, according to […]
Posted inOpinion
When good times roll, must crime cameras roll, too?
By Mark Moseley, The Lens opinion writer | I trust you did something unstructured and excessive during Carnival. That’s the reason for the season, right? The morning parades after Mardi Gras are noticeably less festive. Everyone’s back in their regular costumes, congregating together to receive ashen foreheads instead of colorful beads. It’s a time for […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Jindal, Palin show some spine (on the bookstore shelves)
Again and again, Gov. Bobby Jindal solves problems. For instance, when his cuts to the state library budget led to the cancellation of this fall’s Louisiana Bookfest, Jindal personally stepped in to fill the void by writing and promoting his own book, “Leadership and Crisis.”
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
It’s nice to see conservatives standing up for our freedoms
Despite a painfully embarrassing incident at an airport scanner checkpoint, I’m still not totally on board with the sudden backlash against the new security procedures, which strikes me as oddly timed and perhaps disingenuous.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Uptown hangout to close after 47 underage patrons found
A popular Uptown college hangout has been shut down temporarily after a police raid that ensnared 47 underage drinkers, including the son of a prominent former state legislator, police said.