NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Homeland Security Director Collin Arnold has been suspended from his post without pay for 20 days due to his arrest for drunk driving last week.
The announcement was made by Beau Tidwell, the city’s director of communications, at his weekly press briefing.
Arnold’s arrest and booking are under investigation. He was in a city-owned vehicle at the time of a crash with another vehicle last Thursday, shortly after midnight.
City Press Secretary Latonya Norton Norton said at the time that Arnold "displayed signs of being intoxicated but refused a breathalyzer test." He was booked into Orleans Parish Prison.
"All normal procedures were followed by the NOPD," said Norton's statement. "The Mayor expects this to be handled like any other case. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken once all the facts have been determined."
Mayor Cantrell said last week that she was disappointed in the news.
"I am disappointed by the incident that occurred hours later, and deeply relieved that no one was hurt. Collin Arnold has done a phenomenal job helping to keep this City and our people safe during an extraordinary and unprecedented series of challenges. We have a strong team at NOHSEP and I am confident they will not let this hinder the great work they continue to do.”
Arnold has been at the forefront of the city's response to several major events over the past few years, including all of the hurricanes and tropical storms from 2020, the collapse of the Hard Rock hotel site and the COVID response.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.
