NEW ORLEANS — Days after New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick hit two people while driving in the French Quarter, WWL Louisiana reporter Winston Reed spoke with her.
Monday morning Reed asked if she would like to speak about the accident and the investigation that has taken place.
Kirkpatrick responded, “I’m so sorry for what happened last night. I’m so grateful that the two people involved really are going to be fine. Just terribly sorry. It is under investigation, and when it’s completely finished, I’m going to ask for the state patrol to look at that investigation as well. Again, terribly sorry for the whole event.”
Kirkpatrick told us what led up to the accident.
“I had just gone to the hospital. I had an officer injured, and I live in the neighborhood here, and I was just making a left-hand turn down there when the event occurred,” she said.
We also asked her how soon she saw the two pedestrians before the vehicle hit them.
“If I had seen them, I probably wouldn’t have had the accident, but anyway, I really need to run, but the investigation should be closed real soon," Kirkpatrick said. "Hopefully, even today. Thank you, but appreciate it.”
The woman who was hit suffered minor injuries and was released after being treated. Officers said the man did not claim any injuries at this time.
According to NOPD, "Superintendent Kirkpatrick took a breathalyzer and urinalysis as per departmental accident protocol. The breathalyzer returned a result of 0.00. The urinalysis results will be returned within a few days."
NOPD said the case will be turned over to the Louisiana State Police for review after the department's Traffic Section completes the accident investigation.
Here is a statement from the Office of the Independent Police Monitor regarding Superintendent Kirkpatrick's car accident that occurred over the weekend.
"The Office of the Independent Police Monitor is aware of the accident that occurred involving Superintendent Kirkpatrick on August 3, 2024. The OIPM was not notified of the accident and learned of the incident from social media and subsequent reporting. The OIPM thanks the community for reaching out about this incident and understands their concerns regarding whether investigation protocol was executed at the scene. The OIPM cannot provide any monitoring assessment on the scene since the OIPM did not monitor the investigation.
Currently, under the OIPM Charter and the Memorandum of Understanding between the New Orleans Police Department and the OIPM, there is no obligation for the NOPD to notify the OIPM of this type of incident. Moving forward, the OIPM intends to formally recommend that the notification requirement be expanded, providing the OIPM the opportunity to monitor additional investigations conducted by the NOPD such as this one. Monitoring these types of investigations regarding NOPD leadership and elected officials would enable the OIPM to ensure the integrity of the investigation, adherence to relevant law and policy, and can increase public trust in the process through transparency and accountability."
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