'The rats are eating our marijuana; they're all high': Infested New Orleans police evidence room becoming rodent cafeteria



New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick put the infestation problem plaguing the department in stark terms — particularly in regard to the evidence room that she said has become a kind of smorgasbord for rodents.

"The rats are eating our marijuana," Kirkpatrick said Monday at a City Council Criminal Justice Committee meeting, NOLA.com reported. "They're all high."

Besides consuming narcotics in the department's evidence room, she also said rodents have been scattering feces across desks, the outlet noted. Cockroaches also are making the rounds, NOLA said.

"It is not just at police headquarters. It is all the districts. The uncleanliness is off the charts," Kirkpatrick also said, according to the outlet. "The janitorial cleaning [team] deserves an award trying to clean what is uncleanable."

Other problems at the aging criminal justice complex near Orleans Avenue and North Broad Street include heavy mold as well as deteriorating HVAC units, elevators, and plumbing systems, NOLA added.

More from the outlet:

Kirkpatrick's assessment came as she lobbied to relocate department headquarters to a downtown high rise. The council is considering a 10-year lease on two upper floors of 1615 Poydras Tower, a temporary move while the department maps out future long-term housing, she said.

Kirkpatrick also said the department's overall condition likely is a "turn-off" to potential out-of-state transfers — not to mention for present employees, NOLA noted: "It's not OK, and it's not OK for people to be treated that way and be called valued."

A motion to authorize the pending lease agreement cleared the committee and goes next to a full council vote, the outlet said.

"I foresee most of the criminal justice agencies will have to be temporarily housed as we address these old decrepit buildings," Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño said, according to NOLA. "The Herculean lift of being able to move police headquarters was a challenge. There's a contemplation for the overall finalization of the campus, but right now we are addressing police headquarters because it is in dire straits."

The outlet reported that the city would pay total base rent of $7.6 million from its general fund over 10 years under the terms of the lease agreement.

"It's a good deal for the city to move here," Montaño also said, according to NOLA, given that repairing the present headquarters would cost three times as much.

'They're all high' | Rats eating marijuana, broken AC, roaches, plague NOPD headquarters youtu.be

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Mayor takes over police dept., fires city manager who vowed 'due process' for officer in death of Daunte Wright



The mayor and city council of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, have made some major changes a day after Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man, was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop Sunday afternoon.

Mayor Mike Elliott announced Monday evening he has commandeered the city's police department thanks to the city council. The council also voted to fire City Manager Curt Boganey — who promised Monday that the officer involved in the shooting would be given "due process."

What are the details?

During a news conference regarding the death of Wright before the council meeting, Elliott explained that Boganey controls the police department and he gave the city manager the floor.

Boganey immediately addressed a prior question about the prospect of firing the officer involved in the shooting, saying, "All employees working for the city of Brooklyn Center are entitled to due process with respect to discipline. This employee will receive due process, and that's all I can really say today."

Elected in 2019, Elliott tweeted hours later with no explanation, "Effective immediately our city manager has been relieved of his duties, and the deputy city manager will be assuming his duties moving forward. I will continue to work my hardest to ensure good leadership at all levels of our city government."

Effective immediately our city manager has been relieved of his duties, and the deputy city manager will be assumin… https://t.co/TZdaLd8eak
— Mayor Mike Elliott (@Mayor Mike Elliott)1618266871.0

The StarTribune reported that the termination of Boganey — who had worked for the city since 2005 — was terminated at an emergency City Council meeting where the officials voted to not only get rid of the city manager but to hand authority of the police department over to Elliott. The outlet noted that the council was also "poised to fire" Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon.

At least one City Council member expressed fear about terminating Boganey, according to the paper, who reported:

At a virtual council workshop, Council Member Kris Lawrence-Anderson said she voted to remove the city manager because she feared for her property and retaliation by protestors if she had voted to keep him.

"He was doing a great job. I respect him dearly," she said. "I didn't want repercussions at a personal level."

Brooklyn Center is about 10 miles from Minneapolis, where tensions are high as the trial against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, remains ongoing.

The high-profile video of Chauvin, kneeling for over nine minutes on Floyd's neck before his death, has sparked protests against police brutality and for racial justice across the country, which lasted for months.

Anything else?

Police also said Monday that the fatal shooting of Wright was an accident by an unidentified "very senior" female officer who apparently mistook her handgun for a Taser.

The Brooklyn Center Police Department released body camera video of the deadly shooting of Wright on Monday.

Warning: Graphic content

WARNING GRAPHICBrooklyn Center, MN police release bodycam footage of the moments leading to the fatal shooting of… https://t.co/kLvUxMLN2i
— Daily Caller (@Daily Caller)1618248527.0

Oregon police department removing blue line from patrol vehicles over 'divisive use of the Thin Blue Line symbol'



The police department in Bend, Oregon, announced that the blue line on its patrol vehicles is being removed — and the move is happening due to how the Thin Blue Line symbol has been interpreted.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

What are the details?

"The 'Thin Blue Line' has meant many things over the decades," the department said in a Facebook post Thursday. "The divisive use of the Thin Blue Line symbol to fit a narrative unassociated with our department or what we stand for has unintentionally created an ongoing divide between some members of our community and the police officers who serve them."

The post added that "in the spirit of mending divide, being inclusive with the community we serve, and to continue to build trust within our entire community, our current and future vehicle graphics package will no longer contain a blue line. Moving forward, we will be looking for a design that incorporates a way to honor members of our first responder family who have given their life in service of their communities. Our goal is to have a symbol created that blends seamlessly with our existing mountain graphics."

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told KTVZ-TV Thursday that the blue line originally was intended as a blue horizon behind the mountain graphics on the patrol cars, but due to nationwide backlash against all things Thin Blue Line-related, negative interpretations abounded.

"The intent of the blue line with the black background is, of course, for current law enforcement ... the memorial, the ultimate sacrifice of giving your life and service of your community," Krantz told the station.

The police chief noted to KTVZ that he made the decision to remove the blue vinyl decals two weeks ago.

"Some community members view it as an important piece on our cars, others view it as a barrier between the police and the community, so it's my role to evaluate that and look at how we can best serve the entire community," Krantz added to the station.

Anything else?

Patrol cars for the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office — Bend is located in Deschutes County — display a horizontal blue line across the back, and a few of the officers' vehicles show the black-and-white Thin Blue Line American flag, KTVZ said.

But Lt. William Bailey told the station that the sheriff's office "is not removing them."

Bend PD removing blue line from patrol carsyoutu.be

Other examples

Bend isn't the first police department to crack down on the Thin Blue Line:

Even more recently, an Ohio nonprofit awarded a scholarship to two high school football players who were suspended from school after carrying a Thin Blue Line flag and a Thin Red Line flag before a Sept. 11 game.

And football players at a Florida high school were banned from running onto the field before games carrying a Thin Blue Line flag after complaints that the flag was racist and fears from school administrators that it was viewed as a political statement.

(H/T: The Police Tribune)