NEW ORLEANS, LA - It's been more than two weeks since 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail, and as of this writing, two remain at large. Authorities are scouring the area, but as they search are up against another battle: mistrust from the community in law enforcement and the criminal justice system as a whole.
According to the Associated Press (AP), officials raised concerns that the men were receiving help from the community after three people were booked on accessory charges. Authorities have even offered a $20,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest of the fugitives, yet the community seems to be tight-lipped.
The police superintendent said that most of the fugitives were likely still in the city as more than 200 law enforcement personnel work around the clock to find them. Many of the inmates that escaped, including the ones still at large, have been charged with or convicted of violent offenses.
Resident Mario Westbrook, 48, said, "If we feel like the law enforcement was here to help us, we would help them."
He realized only after the arrest of escapee Dkenan Dennis that he had unknowingly spoken with the fugitive that day outside a corner store. Westbrook compared the rush to capture Dennis near his home with the often hours-long law enforcement response times in his neighborhood in New Orleans East, a long-marginalized stretch of the majority-black city.
He said, "Our community, the police come back here, they have no respect for us as human beings." While dropping off a package near where police had cordoned off streets before capturing escapee Corey Boyd, delivery driver Brandy Peters, 36, said she was surprised authorities caught anyone "because normally crime here goes unsolved".
She added, "If you ask me, they lean more toward the French Quarter area, protecting and serving there more, making sure that when people come from out of town, that's where they are at." The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has seen drastic improvement in the ways in which the officers respond and treat marginalized communities over the last decade.
After the U.S. Department of Justice allegedly found evidence of racial bias, misconduct, and a culture of impunity, the city was subjected to a very expansive federal oversight plan. It was also one of the first departments in the U.S. to implement body cameras. Still, a 2024 survey conducted by the New Orleans Crime Coalition found that residents are five times as likely to hold a negative view of police as a positive one.
Tyler Cross, who lives in the St. Roch neighborhood where a SWAT team unsuccessfully sought a fugitive, sees the escape as indicative of "significant systemic issues" with the city's law enforcement and criminal justice system. He said, "It's almost like a joke, which kind of speaks to how people feel about the police in this area. The whole situation is just kind of ridiculous."
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, however, said that law enforcement is doing "an amazing job in building trust and relationships in the communities they serve" and working to apprehend "violent and dangerous escapees."
According to the Associated Press (AP), officials raised concerns that the men were receiving help from the community after three people were booked on accessory charges. Authorities have even offered a $20,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest of the fugitives, yet the community seems to be tight-lipped.
The police superintendent said that most of the fugitives were likely still in the city as more than 200 law enforcement personnel work around the clock to find them. Many of the inmates that escaped, including the ones still at large, have been charged with or convicted of violent offenses.
Resident Mario Westbrook, 48, said, "If we feel like the law enforcement was here to help us, we would help them."
He realized only after the arrest of escapee Dkenan Dennis that he had unknowingly spoken with the fugitive that day outside a corner store. Westbrook compared the rush to capture Dennis near his home with the often hours-long law enforcement response times in his neighborhood in New Orleans East, a long-marginalized stretch of the majority-black city.
He said, "Our community, the police come back here, they have no respect for us as human beings." While dropping off a package near where police had cordoned off streets before capturing escapee Corey Boyd, delivery driver Brandy Peters, 36, said she was surprised authorities caught anyone "because normally crime here goes unsolved".
She added, "If you ask me, they lean more toward the French Quarter area, protecting and serving there more, making sure that when people come from out of town, that's where they are at." The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has seen drastic improvement in the ways in which the officers respond and treat marginalized communities over the last decade.
After the U.S. Department of Justice allegedly found evidence of racial bias, misconduct, and a culture of impunity, the city was subjected to a very expansive federal oversight plan. It was also one of the first departments in the U.S. to implement body cameras. Still, a 2024 survey conducted by the New Orleans Crime Coalition found that residents are five times as likely to hold a negative view of police as a positive one.
Tyler Cross, who lives in the St. Roch neighborhood where a SWAT team unsuccessfully sought a fugitive, sees the escape as indicative of "significant systemic issues" with the city's law enforcement and criminal justice system. He said, "It's almost like a joke, which kind of speaks to how people feel about the police in this area. The whole situation is just kind of ridiculous."
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, however, said that law enforcement is doing "an amazing job in building trust and relationships in the communities they serve" and working to apprehend "violent and dangerous escapees."
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