Tag: NOPD

Capt. Anthony Caprera promoted to lead NOPD 8th District; ex-station chief demoted

A New Orleans Police lieutenant with the 8th District was promoted to the rank of captain on Friday and will now lead the station as its new commander.

Capt. Anthony Caprera (pictured left), who is now in charge of the 8th District, was promoted from lieutenant during a private ceremony in Superintendent Shaun Ferguson’s office on Friday, according to New Orleans Police.

Additionally, Capt. Preston Bax, formerly a lieutenant and assistant commander with New Orleans Police’s 4th District, was promoted to captain and commander of the 6th District during the same ceremony.

The ceremonies were held separately and in private in order to practice social/physical distancing measures to stop coronavirus spread, the New Orleans Police said.

NOPD 8th District officer dies after battle with coronavirus

Caprera takes on responsibility for the district, which includes the French Quarter, the Central Business District and parts, other parts of downtown and a portion of the Marigny.

Caprera replaced his former boss, Lt. Octavio Baldassaro (pictured right), who was demoted from captain following an undisclosed and ongoing internal administrative investigation conducted by the Public Integrity Bureau, New Orleans Police said.

Baldassaro was previously investigated for an excessive force incident in which he was filmed throwing a woman to the ground while arresting her for fighting during French Quarter Festival in 2019, but was later cleared of wrongdoing, according to The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate.

NOPD 8th District officer dies after battle with coronavirus

A 30-year New Orleans Police veteran and 8th District officer passed away on Thursday following complications from COVID-19, according to the department.

Mark Hall Sr., a police officer assigned to NOPD’s 8th District in the French Quarter, died Thursday after he was diagnosed with coronavirus on April 3.

Hall served more than 30 years with the department, most recently with the 8th District, when he died. The NOPD announced his passing in a public statement posted to Facebook.

Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin gets early release from federal prison due to coronavirus pandemic

“It is with great sorry that the New Orleans Police Department announce the passing of a brother in blue due to complications from COVID-19,” the statement said. “Hall was a veteran of the NOPD with more than 30 years of service, most recently with the 8th District. Please keep his family in your prayers.”

The Louisiana Department of Health reported 447 coronavirus deaths and 6,557 confirmed cases in Orleans Parish, according to its most recent data published on Monday.

Additionally, public health officials on Monday reported a total of 29,673 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 1,991 deaths statewide.

NOPD searching for suspected thief who stole copper gutters from buildings on St. Louis, St. Phillip streets

  • NOPD

A suspected thief was captured on camera ripping pieces of copper gutters from buildings in the French Quarter early Friday morning, according to New Orleans Police.

The suspect allegedly struck two different locations in a matter of minutes, stealing copper gutters from the sides of buildings on St. Louis and St. Phillip streets, incidents that were captured on surveillance camera footage released by the NOPD on Tuesday.

The first incident occurred at about 6:30 a.m. on Friday when the suspect was seen removing a copper gutter from a business in the 900 block of St. Louis Street.

Fifteen minutes later, the same person was seen again removing another copper gutter from the side of a building in the 600 block of St. Phillip Street.

Light scrap copper—which includes sheet copper, gutters and other unalloyed solids with at least 88% copper—fetches around $2 per pound in Louisiana, according to various indices.

Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to contact NOPD Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080. Anonymous callers can contact Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 877-903-7867.

New Orleans Police search for Bourbon Street graffiti vandalism suspects

Surveillance camera footage that allegedly shows two suspects who vandalized the Cat’s Meow with graffiti on Saturday. NOPD contributed photo.

Two suspects are wanted by New Orleans Police for allegedly vandalizing several Bourbon Street businesses with graffiti on Saturday.

The two are wanted for criminal damage to property, according to NOPD Eighth District officials, whose area of responsibility includes the French Quarter protected historic district.

The suspects were seen on surveillance camera footage tagging several Bourbon Street businesses at about 1 a.m. on Saturday, according to New Orleans Police.

Several tags included the letters “BJF” and “Fos,” New Orleans Police said, adding that a female suspect wrote “Julia” on one of the buildings.

New Orleans Police on Monday released alleged surveillance camera footage of the suspects, who are pictured above.

The Cat’s Meow on Saturday. David Punch via Facebook.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced elected officials to shutter “nonessential” businesses, including the vast majority of bars and shops in the French Quarter, which would normally crawling with tourists — and cops — on a Saturday morning.

The vandalism appeared around the same time graffiti art from artist Josh Wingerter popped up along plywood window coverings in other parts of the French Quarter and Frenchmen Street, but aren’t included in the vandalism investigation.

Anyone with information regarding the identities and the location of the two Bourbon Street vandalism suspects are asked to contact NOPD Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080. Anonymous callers can contact Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111 or call toll-free at 877-903-7867.