New Orleans: Waving signs that read “Bring in state troopers!” and “LaToya call the governor,” hundreds of people demonstrated against crime outside New Orleans City Hall in a rally organized by colleagues of the real estate agent who was brutally carjacked while gassing up her vehicle at Costco last week.
The demonstration, dubbed the “rally for peace,” came as the City Council amps up the pressure on Mayor LaToya Cantrell to change her public safety policies. Council members said that they are calling on Governor John Bel Edwards to send State Police troopers to patrol interstate highways in the city.
The life story of the alleged carjacker, Tyrese Harris, 18, was also emerging as a political issue on Monday. Council President Helena Moreno accused the city of failing to identify Harris as a youth bounding down a path toward trouble – but Cantrell’s administration said she had personally met with Harris in an attempt to set him on the right track.
Many rally attendees were gathered because of the near-death experience on Feb. 1 of Kelleye Rhein, a real estate agent who was knocked unconscious and left with a fractured skull after a carjacker drove off in her vehicle, dragging her in the process.
Harris has also been booked in the January killing of a 12-year-old boy whose body was dumped in a remote area of New Orleans East.
Rhein’s coworkers at Rêve Realtors helped organize the rally, which included addresses from another agent, a pastor and an anti-crime activist. They called for a mix of short-term policies like higher bails for people accused of violent crimes and more services for youths in the long term.
Moreno said the rest of the City Council, save District E Council member Oliver Thomas, have signed a letter to Edwards asking for more State Police to patrol the interstates and take pressure off of the New Orleans Police Department, which is struggling to respond quickly to 911 calls in the face of depleted staffing.
“There’s much more that needs to be done immediately, and some of these actions can easily be done by our mayor, if she made those asks and requests,” said Moreno, adding that Cantrell should also ask for back-up on the highways.
City Hall hasn’t committed to making that request. In a statement, a City Hall spokesperson said that Cantrell and other city leaders have been in “constant communication” with Edwards and the State Police “regarding law enforcement challenges.”
“Chief Ferguson communicates regularly with Col. Lamar Davis at the LSP. As with every law enforcement agency in the country, the state police are contending with manpower challenges of their own. However — they will continue to support NOPD and special events in the City,” said the spokesperson, Beau Tidwell.
Edwards’ office struck a similar note in a statement through a spokesperson, Christina Stephens, who said troopers were deployed to the city for a special anti-crime operation last summer.
“Keeping Louisianans safe is a top priority of the Governor’s and of LSP’s and the best way for us to deploy resources at this time is through short-term deployments, which are dictated by LSP’s own staffing levels and prioritize the enforcement of aggressive and impaired driving, violent fugitive apprehension and recovery of illegal narcotics and illegal weapons,” Stephens said. Nola.com
