Investigations have been racking up for an NOPD officer accused of pushing a high school marching band member mid-song during Sunday's parades.
According to NOLA.com, Sgt. Alfred James Russell Jr. has also been accused of payroll fraud on top of existing multiple misconduct investigations.
The financial complaint against the 26-year NOPD veteran was born out of an incident where several NOPD officers had been accused of receiving income from two sources simultaneously, also known as double dipping.
A UNO professor who first reported the alleged fraud said that he believes Russell earned over $130,000 from off-duty details, even though he was often nowhere to be found during those shifts.
"Russell has no direct supervision and sets his own schedule. This means that as of October 2021, Officer Russell only works detail and has no meaningful role in the NOPD," Professor Skip Gallagher had said in his complaint.
Sergeant Russell's lawyer, Donovan Livacarri, told WWL Louisiana on Friday that the resurfaced accusations are not completely true. According to Livacarri, Russell had questions about filing the use of force report. He said Russell filed the report one day later when his questions were answered. As for the alleged payroll fraud, Livacarri says Sergeant Russell's mistake was neglecting to check the accuracy of his payroll. Livacarri says the payroll was eventually adjusted to what it was supposed to be.
He said Gallagher's constant complaints against the NOPD are a "tremendous waste of time and resources."
The viral video shows Sgt. Russell pushing L.B. Landry high school senior Brandon "BJ" Mitchell circulated online led the NOPD to remove Russell from parade duty.
According to police records, Russell has a lengthy history of misconduct complaints, including a 2019 incident where he did not report a use of force.
Tiffany Jones, the mother of high school senior Mitchell, said she has been scheduled for a meeting with NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick to discuss the alleged assault on her son by Russell.
"I was aware (Russell) had a history of complaints," Jones said. "And that is why I'm pushing so hard – because I don't want it to be swept under the rug."
Livacarri said the situation is being blown out of proportion. According to Livacarri, Sergeant Russell was flagged down to escort EMS from one side of the route to the other. Livacarri said Russell was struck in the back and instinctively reacted with his arm, but said he quickly realized what happened he told Mitchell to watch where he was going.
According to the NOPD, the Public Integrity Bureau has been investigating the incident.