Two Officers Suspended In Causeway Incident

Only two take the fall. I know it is hard to believe who had the nerve not to face responsibility. Read on:

One of the officers who stopped Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price last month on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway has been demoted and faces a three-day suspension for failing to test Price for alcohol after he crashed through a toll booth barrier and continued to drive with no headlights.

Sgt. Chris Dupont, a 10-year veteran with the Causeway Police Department, will drop one rank to corporal and his pay will be reduced accordingly, Loicano announced Friday afternoon. His suspension includes the temporay loss of his take-home vehicle and the ability to work overtime or paid details during that pay period.

Raymond Burkart, Dupont's attorney, said he does not feel the punishment fits the crime, calling Loicano's decision "an egregious abuse of disciplinary discretion." He said he plans to ask Loicano to reconsider his decision and would like another law enforcement agency to conduct a separate investigation into the matter.

"If, in fact, the powers that be choose to call in the State Police to assist in truly investigating independently the matter, we can only hope that any wrongdoing by any party is dealt with swiftly and appropriately," Burkart said.

Officer Chad Dorsett, who worked the stop with Dupont, will be suspended for one day and lose his take-home car privilege as well as the ability to work overtime or paid details during that pay period. Loicano also chose to extend Dorsett's probationary period by an additional six months, as Dorsett has been with the department for only a few months.

The suspensions begin June 1, Loicano said.

Loicano's decision in the matter comes one day after the men participated in an administrative hearing to determine whether the officers had neglected their duty as police officers when they stopped Price just after midnight in April 23.

The officers stopped Price at the first crossover, about three miles from Mandeville, and the mayor admitted he had been drinking. Price also said he couldn't remember hitting the toll booth barrier, but the officers declined to ticket him or administer a field sobriety test, as required by the department's policy manual. The officers then allowed Price to call someone to drive him home.

Two weeks later, the agency cited Price with careless driving, and Price said afterward that he would pay the ticket and for the damage to the gate.

Based upon the totality of the facts, Loicano said the officers should have subjected Price to a field sobriety test. By failing to do so, the officers violated departmental procedure with regard to investigating suspected intoxicated drivers.

Dupont, the supervisor on duty that night, neglected his duty by failing to supervise a thorough and complete investigation into the incident, while Dorsett did so by failing to conduct a complete and thorough investigation.

Loicano initiated an internal investigation into the matter after receiving a call May 1 from Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission. Goyeneche has said he called Loicano because he had heard about the accident and wondered whether the investigation had been as thorough as possible.

Destination: New Orleans

Good news for the Big Easy:

Bob Sharak, marketing and membership coordinator for the Cruise Lines International Association, said he's confident in New Orleans' future as cruise destination given the number of new ships scheduled to come online in the next four years and despite competition with other U.S. ports for Western Caribbean cruises and with European ports for the newly popular Mediterranean cruises.

Jindal Gets National Attention

Bobby Jindal is gaining national attention these days surrounding his upcoming meeting with a presidential candidate:

Gov. Bobby Jindal and his wife, Supriya, are scheduled to fly to Arizona Friday for a meeting with presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain, fueling speculation that Jindal is among a small group being considered as running mate for McCain.

Jindal, 36, has downplayed suggestions that he is getting serious consideration as McCain's running mate, and, while saying he loved his job as governor, has refused to say he would turn down the chance to run for the nation's No. 2 job.

New Orleans' Saints Defensive Indicted

AP:

New Orleans Saints defensive end Charles Grant has been indicted on a charge of involuntary manslaughter stemming from a February altercation at a nightclub.

Grant, who was stabbed in the neck during the fracas, was charged by an Early County grand jury that also charged Laquient Macklin with felony murder and feticide in the shooting death of Korynda Reed, 23. Reed died after being taken to the Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, after the fight early Feb. 3.