Though officials pledged that the audio tapes from the investigation of NOPD officer Jeffrey Vappie were secure, a city employee in the Law Department mistakenly handed a flash drive containing 11 interviews of Vappie and other officers to an unidentified member of HANO’s board of directors earlier on Monday, March 13. Though the investigation is ongoing, somehow the materials were made available to the City Attorney and presumably Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
Copies of the flash drive began circulating to the media on Tuesday. Big Easy Magazine gained access to the audio tapes and have posted them in their entirety so that the public can get an insiders’ view of how the investigation is being handled. City Attorney Donesia Turner called the release of the flash drive “a mishap.”
Vappie has been under investigation for excessive timesheets he submitted for payment to the city while working as a bodyguard for Mayor LaToya Cantrell. Vappie’s wife filed for divorce and claimed that a “Mrs. C” bore responsibility for the collapse of their 20-year marriage.
Independent Police Monitor Stella Czimet notified federal and city officials that a possible leak had compromised the investigation. “These unredacted interviews were clearly released prior to the completion of the pending investigation and outside of NOPD protocol and possibly in violation of Louisiana law. The OIPM is not aware of any investigatory materials being reported stolen or compromised by the Public Integrity Bureau and does not understand how this breach occurred,” said Crizment in her letter to government entities.
“This release creates more questions than answers,” said Councilmember Giarrusso. “If the Public Integrity Bureau (PIB) is not finished with this investigation, then the investigatory materials should only be in their hands. The City Attorney’s office shouldn’t be in the middle of this. This is the reason we called for a third-party investigation.”
“This investigation is completely compromised. When we asked the Federal Consent Monitors to take this case in-house due to potential conflicts, this is exactly the outcome we feared would happen,” added Council President J.P. Morrell. “PIB has previously admitted they voluntarily shared it with interested parties. NOPD should immediately turn over this investigation to the Independent Police Monitor for complete review and allow her office to take it over, as it is apparent that the Federal Consent Monitor is disinterested in getting involved in this mess.” In November of 2022, Morrell and Giarrusso requested that the Federal Consent Monitors oversee the investigation. They believed the PIB would be unable to conduct an impartial investigation.
To listen to the full collection of audio tapes, click here.
