A recent report issued by the Orleans Parish Independent Police Monitor concerning the NOPD response to the incident involving former City Council Member Jay Banks and Beldon Batiste is inaccurate in multiple ways.

Also, because of those inaccuracies, recent media reports regarding the report are also inaccurate.

• At no point were NOPD officers untruthful in responding to a Public Integrity Bureau investigation of the response to the incident or the Independent Police Monitor during that office’s investigation of the response to this incident.
• At no time did any officer attempt to intimidate anyone involved in this incident. To imply there was any sort of preferential treatment is false and without merit. 

Reviewing and or amending the findings of the Public Integrity Bureau investigation is currently not under consideration. 

The officers were leaving a District staff meeting for lunch when two of ranking officers were ordered to serve the summons.

It should also be noted that the report incorrectly alleges that there was no District MAX meeting on that date.

In addition to the movement of the District MAX meeting to that Monday, the officers also held their weekly district staff meeting. Therefore, an explanation that several officers were together either going to or coming from a meeting is true and in no way false or misleading as is implied in the IPM report.

Further, both parties were given the opportunity to sign the summonses issued related to this incident. One party signed the summons at the First District station, while the second refused to sign at the scene. He later came to the Public Integrity Bureau with his attorney to sign.

NOPD has been working with the IPM to implement some of the policy suggestions provided in this report.

But we disagree with and reject the findings in this report regarding the actions of the officers involved.