NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has reportedly fired a senior administration official who was arrested after allegedly crashing his pickup truck while driving drunk in the French Quarter.
Peter Bowen was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on five charges last month, including driving while drunk, reckless driving and criminal damage to property. Bowen was placed on emergency suspension without pay shortly after his arrest.
According to the Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate, Bowen allegedly crashed his Ford F-150 into two parked cars and poles supporting balconies at the corner of Dumaine and Chartres streets. Police officers reportedly found Bowen asleep in the driver’s seat of the pickup with the engine running. He also reportedly had slurred speech, had alcohol on his breath and couldn’t stand on his own when police woke him.
At one point in the interaction with police, Bowen allegedly dug through his glove box while “looking for my badge.” He reportedly later declined to take a field sobriety test or Breathalyzer, instead telling officers to call Superintendent Shaun Ferguson.
Bowen is also accused of threatening officers with retribution, telling them “You’re going to regret doing this,” and “You’re going to be suspended for a year.”
The newspaper reports that Bowen was fired from his job overseeing the city’s short-term rentals on Tuesday.
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