New Orleans — National Guard troops are expected to arrive in the Big Easy before the end of November, Anne Kirkpatrick, the city’s police superintendent, told CBS News, adding that she had a “good conversation” with a National Guard major recently about the plans.
“We are working together and planning their deployment,” Kirkpatrick told CBS News in an interview Tuesday evening. “They are not coming in to take us over — this is a partnership.”
While New Orleans had requested Louisiana National Guard support for upcoming New Year’s Eve events, the earlier assistance from federal National Guard troops came at the request of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry in late September.
Kirkpatrick said the troops are scheduled to arrive in time for the city’s Bayou Classic — a major two-day college football event held at Caesars Superdome from Nov. 27 through Nov. 29 featuring Grambling State and Southern University. The troops are expected to remain in the city through New Year’s Eve and Mardi Gras in February and will patrol between those events as well.
National Guard troops were previously deployed to New Orleans at the beginning of the year following a New Year’s Day terror attack that killed 14 people on Bourbon Street in the city’s iconic French Quarter district. Super Bowl LIX was held in New Orleans in February, drawing heightened security.
“If you remove the politics out of that, our relationships were already established. We’ve had excellent working relationships with the National Guard,” Kirkpatrick said. “My number one mission is to safety, and if National Guard can advance and be a force multiplier, great.”
Recently, the federal government has sent National Guard troops to other U.S. cities — including Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon — in response to protests over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
In New Orleans, crime is down in almost every category compared to last year, according to crime statistics provided by the New Orleans Police Department.
Kirkpatrick spoke to CBS News during the city’s annual Night Out Against Crime event, which aims to bridge divides between community members and various law enforcement agencies.
The New Orleans Police Department is currently understaffed, Kirpatrick said. A DJ at the event spoke over the loudspeaker encouraging people to consider either signing up for the police academy or as a deputy with the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The city still needs about 300 more police officers, a New Orleans Police Department spokesperson told CBS News.
Regardless, asked if she thinks Guard troops should be deployed to New Orleans outside of assisting with a major event, Kirkpatrick responded, “I don’t.”
“We are peacemakers and soldiers are trained to engage in enemy combat. Our community is not our enemy, but they are here to help support us in law enforcement functions for specific results,” Kirkpatrick said. “I am not confused about our different missions, but there’s some things we can overlap on and indeed work collaboratively.”
Meanwhile, the city said 20 more officers are set to graduate the police academy this Friday.
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