NEW ORLEANS — Officer Jeffrey Vappie is back on the Mayor's executive protection detail after a Public Integrity Bureau Investigation
The bureau was investigating whether he overbilled the city or collected overtime he did not earn.
Vappie was on duty Thursday morning alongside Mayor Cantrell, who defended his reinstatement to her detail.
"The New Orleans Police Department's practice is to return officers to their original duties once appropriate disciplinary action has been administered," Mayor LaToya Cantrell said. "Consistent with this long-standing NOPD protocol, Officer Jeffrey Vappie has resumed his assignment to Executive Protection."
This comes as the monitors for the consent decree laid out nine violations in regard to how the PIB handled the investigation.
They say the nine missteps were major – some of those include allowing witness interview audio tapes to be released, failing to interview the mayor, and failing to collect circumstantial evidence.
NOPD Superintendent Michelle Woodfork issued a statement on Vappie's reinstatement saying:
The New Orleans Police Department has adopted a system of best practices by assembling a panel consisting of three senior-level managers to examine the facts and procedures of each formal disciplinary investigation and provide a final recommendation of their findings.
The panel convened for this disciplinary hearing consisted of three senior-level individuals with more than 70 years of NOPD experience. This panel is highly versed in NOPD policy and procedure and utilized their knowledge and experience to weigh the facts and circumstances of this detailed investigation.
As with all sustained disciplinary investigations, appropriate disciplinary action followed.
I would like to assure the public that the process of fair and consistent discipline is a staple of this administration and that the NOPD will continue to evaluate each allegation brought before us with the highest levels of professional standards.
As such, I agreed with the recommendations of the panel regarding the facts and circumstances presented in this case. My decision stands firm.
As to Officer Jeffrey Vappie’s assignment, according to the disciplinary matrix, the sustained violations were minor in nature; therefore, Officer Vappie was returned to his previous assignment on the mayor’s executive protection team.
Officer Vappie’s return to his former duties is consistent with what occurs with any officer whose disciplinary action has concluded with minor departmental infractions.
Moreover, as a result of this investigation, I have charged our Professional Standards & Accountability Bureau with authoring an executive protection policy which includes input from both DOJ and the monitoring team.
This policy, along with standard operating procedures which are currently being drafted, will establish clear expectations for members of the Executive Protection Team.
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