NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans police officer arrested Saturday and booked with inappropriate behavior with a 17-year-old was released after posting $24,000 bail Tuesday, but with conditions.
Court records show that Tyler Sirois, 28, will have to wear an electronic ankle monitor. In addition, the teen who lodged the complaint against the officer was outfitted with a “victim protection fob,” an electronic device that sounds an alarm if the defendant gets near him.
Sirois, a patrol officer assigned to the Fifth Police District, was booked on charges of simple battery, malfeasance, false imprisonment and unauthorized entry.
The case emerged after Sirois handled a routine traffic accident on March 4 involving the 17-year-old driver. The case took a different turn after the NOPD handled a call of concern from one of the teen-ager’s high school teachers.
In an affidavit supporting an arrest warrant for Sirois, a detective assigned to the NOPD’s child abuse unit claimed that the officer coerced the teenager to strip to his underwear while the officer inspected his private parts.
A magistrate court commissioner ordered the electronic monitoring in addition to bail, not because Sirois is a flight risk or danger to the community, but for the protection of the alleged victim, given the nature of the allegations.
The affidavit states that days after the accident, the 17-year-old got a string of calls from an unknown phone number. When he finally answered, it was Sirois who allegedly asked him, “Where you at? I need to come see you and check you out,” Sgt. Robyn Scott wrote in her report.
Scott wrote that Sirois told the teen and his family that he needed to check for injuries, even though the teen said he was not hurt.
“The victim advised he was fine, he was not injured, however in a high voice the officer insisted they needed to go inside,” Scott wrote. “The victim said he felt weird and felt compelled to follow his instructions because he was police.”
The teenager from El Salvador speaks limited English. The entire episode has put the family on edge, according to Jill Dennis, owner of ASAP, the electronic monitoring company.
“There was a language barrier,” Dennis said. “However, I do believe the family is very concerned and fearful. And I think they would be, especially since we're putting this on a police officer. And the police officer is who they're supposed to call if they're in danger.”
The detectives’ report gives additional details about the allegations.
“The victim stated that upon walking into the living room of his residence, the officer instructed him to take off his shorts. The victim said, ‘I felt forced, uncomfortable and didn’t know what was going to happen if I didn’t do what he said.”
Sgt. Scott wrote that the victim then said Sirois “looked at his legs, then pulled the waistband of his shorts in the front, looked at his penis, said ‘OK,” then pulled the waistband of his shorts in the back, looked at his buttocks and said, ‘OK.’ ”
The victim and his family told investigators that they complied out of fear.
Detectives say they confirmed Sirois did, in fact, visit the family's house despite no official reason for doing so, leading to the arrest warrant. Sirois surrendered on Saturday.
In an emailed statement, the NOPD confirmed that Sirois was arrested and reassigned to desk duty.
“As part of this process, the officer has been placed under close supervision and his policing powers have been suspended,” the NOPD Public Information Office wrote.
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