'They're all high': Rats are eating marijuana evidence at New Orleans police headquarters, chief says

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The chief of the New Orleans Police Department stunned members of the city council this week with a detail the committee hadn't heard before: Rats have overrun the NOPD's Evidence and Property Room, destroying evidence collected in drug busts.

"The rats are eating our marijuana," said NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick. "They're all high."

Kirkpatrick described the situation as an "infestation."

"People shouldn't have to come through their offices and see rodent drippings on their desk," she said.

Kirkpatrick's comments came during a criminal justice committee meeting on Monday, as the council moves forward on a plan to move the NOPD headquarters from its home of nearly 60 years on South Broad Street. The city plans to relocate the department into two floors of a downtown skyscraper across from the Superdome.

Kirkpatrick also said there are roaches and "heavy mold" in the current building, which she called a health issue.

Beyond that, she said the building's elevators and toilets are routinely out of service.

"In the end, it does not make sense for y'all to put any more money into [the current headquarters]," Kirkpatrick told the council.

"It's not OK," she said. "It's not OK for your people to be treated that way and called valued."

Council members are scheduled to hold a full vote regarding the new headquarters at a future meeting.