# NOPD arrest 28 in French Quarter sweep



## pigpen

http://www.wwltv.com/story/news/2015/03/28/28-individuals-arrested-in-french-quarter/70601714/

NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Police Department has reported 28 arrests made Friday evening as part of a targeted enforcement in the French Quarter.

A coordinated effort involving 8th District officers and off-duty NOPD was organized to address nuisance violations complaints in the French Quarter, New Orleans police said.

The type of complaints were not listed, but NOPD said the complaints came from business owners, residents and visitors in the French Quarter area.

NOPD said they worked with the French Quarter Task Force security detail and the LA-SPCA to conduct the enforcement. According to NOPD, the targeted individuals were involved in aggressive solicitations, illegal vending and obstruction of public right of ways.

The statement did not address the reason behind the involvement of the LA-SPCA with the operation, and no animals were confiscated.


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## Preacher

Lovely. Just lovely. And I'm headed there next week. I'm just monday-morning-quartebacking here, but I'm guessing they used undercovers along with the spca to pull papers on and search all the "undesirables". Probably used any violation of the letter of the law at all as probable cause. Even checking for dog tags and rabies shots I bet. Then take them in for whatever they could. Probably let most of them go in less than 24 hours. Bet it was more of a public relations thing than anything. But still.


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## Kim Chee

Edited to include body of artical to accompany the link.


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## pigpen

sweeps in the quarter are nothing new but 30 people is kinda a lot. if they got 30 people and didn't lock up any dogs, they must have left a fair amount of people on the street, meaning before the sweep there musta been a ton of kids in the quarter. I love new orleans and understand why so many people flock there, but jesus fucking christ kids give it a rest, the city is a whole lot bigger than the french quarter....


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## Dmac

I can't understand why some people get angry/aggressive when they are panhandling. makes no sense to me. or is it just me?


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## Waya anisitsune

this link has the people's name's and age's that were arrested - http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/03/french_quarter_transients_targ.html

  By  Jonathan Bullington, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune  
Follow on Twitter 
on March 30, 2015 at 6:45 PM, updated March 31, 2015 at 2:41 PM
In New Orleans' French Quarter, they are called many names: "Gutter punks," "dirty kids," "freight hoppers." To some, they're a frightful and aggressive nuisance - one targeted by a recent police sweep fueled by businessman Sidney Torres' pocket book and his task force.

To others, these men and women are just harmless travelers, fixtures of city living.

Sitting outside Walgreens on Decatur Street Monday afternoon (March 30), they were David Anthony Marsh, "Michael Moore" and Frederick Dehn -- and they were thirsty.

"Why didn't you get whiskey?" Marsh asked the other two, reaching out his hand to pass back a tall can of malt liquor.

"Whiskey was too expensive," Dehn responded. "We didn't have enough."

New Orleans police say the seasonal migration of "travelers" like Marsh and company poses problems for residents, businesses and visitors of the French Quarter -- the city's premier tourist destination. During a raid Friday, police arrested 22 people on 28 misdemeanor charges, most targeting loitering behavior and illegal vending that some neighborhood residents have complained about. 

"They're not necessarily the biggest issue on the plate," NOPD Commander Jeffrey Walls, whose 8th District includes the Quarter, said of transient visitors. But dealing with the problems they pose, Walls said, is "like the broken window syndrome. If you address minor issues, you'll take care of the bigger ones as well."

Complaints of aggressive panhandling or clogging sidewalks have been a near constant in the area. But Walls said arresting someone accused of aggressive solicitation, for example, would typically take most of the arresting officer's day -- often requiring waiting for the accused to be checked out for an exaggerated medical condition.

Police are also ill-equipped to house the pets of transients who get arrested. The 8th District headquarters has only one dog kennel. Dealing with a second dog requires waiting for Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to come to the scene, or bringing the dog to the SPCA in after-hours cases.

So officers typically issued summons to appear in court. Those court appearances, Walls said, were often missed.

"We were beating our heads against the wall," he said.

*Friday's raid a sign of new regime*

Enter Torres, the former trash collection mogul who recently began personally paying for a crime-reporting app and off-duty NOPD officers to patrol the Quarter on all-terrain vehicles. Torres said he spoke with police about the challenges of addressing complaints related to transients, and agreed to donate $4,000 to have LASPCA officers join NOPD officers and off-duty task force officers in targeted enforcement efforts.

"It's a big problem," Torres said, relaying his own experience of an aggressive encounter with a transient outside his own home last week. "They make people feel unsafe."

Friday night's sweep of Decatur, Royal, St. Louis and Frenchmen streets netted 22 people arrested on 28 misdemeanor charges, NOPD said. Most charges, 15, were for obstruction of public passage, said NOPD spokesman Tyler Gamble. Six were on municipal warrants, three each for illegal vending or carrying open glass containers, and one for public intoxication.

Gamble released the following names and ages of those arrested in the sweep:


Anthony Duncan, 33
Trevis Fisher, 37
Jeff Starks, 35
Brian Philower, 23
Stephen Sprul, 29
Kasem Hebert, 28
Patrick Thompson, 25
Selene Hart, 20
Jeffrey Edgerton, 24
Charles Bragg, 26
Lynda Madison, 44
Joseph Williams, 36
Michael Judge, 32
Joseph Vinyard, 24
Jeremy Groce, 26
Daniel Sullivan, 28
Scott Gioseffi, 35
Mohammad Karaji, 24
Jon Meredith, 49
Joshua Ryan, 25
Ronald Gilmore, 26
Nicholas Matthews, 26
No animals were taken into custody, police said. Alicia Haefele, spokeswoman for the LASPCA, said the agency often works with NOPD on daytime enforcement sweeps. With Torres' donation, she said the agency is available for additional patrol efforts.

Animals taken into LASPCA custody are spayed or neutered and given any necessary vaccinations, Haefele said. They are returned to their owners in all but a few cases, she said, such as when the animal is deemed too aggressive or is intentionally mistreated by its owner.

"We really want to do everything we can to reunite pets with their owners, and help give them the resources to care for their dogs," she said.

*"A lot of these kids get kicked out of their home" *

Outside Walgreens on Monday afternoon, a dog -- adopted by Marsh two months ago -- slept soundly while a cardboard sign reading "my dad needs beer" rested on its side.

The "elder statesman" of the group at 44, Marsh's pulled back hair showed shocks of the gray hair dominating his goatee. He's considered a freight hopper, he said, and the black bandana hanging around his neck, acting as sort of a frequent flier card, signifies he's logged more than 10,000 miles on the rails.


French Quarter transients In New Orleans' French Quarter, they are called many names: "Gutter punks," "dirty kids," "freight hoppers." To some, they're a frightful and aggressive nuisance - one targeted by a recent police sweep fueled by businessman Sidney Torres' pocket book and his task force.
"Cops don't like the way we look, or the way we dress," he said, stopping periodically to show off the two cardboard signs he was "flying" that day: "Vision of a Steak & Beer" and "Mama said wait here 40 years ago."

"A lot of these kids get kicked out of their home," he said. "They don't know where to go. A lot are good kids who want to see the world."

Marsh's own journey started in Minnesota, he said, and included time in Chicago before taking to the rails. He's working on a book, he said, and has collected thousands of photographs of the "dirty kids" he's met during his travels.

There have been arrests, he said, more than 30 in 26 cumulative years spent on New Orleans' streets. There have been fights and brushes with death. Dehn, sitting to Marsh's right, had a heroin overdose scare the night before, Marsh said, the medical bracelet still visible on Dehn's arm.

Few Quarter residents or visitors who passed by Marsh and his friends Monday afternoon gave them any money. Some showed slight amusement at the group's cleverly worded signs, with one man managing to snap what he likely considered to be a covert picture. One woman stopped to drop off leftover fries ("still warm," she touted) for the group, followed in short order by two older men who walked by shaking their heads and muttering something about heroin.

But most appeared to carry out their brief encounter with the group by making as little eye contact as possible, veering to the opposite side of the sidewalk as if an imaginary force had propelled them there.

"It's sad," said Patronia Phelps, 64, in town from Houston for a birthday party. "Very heartbreaking."

Perhaps the biggest score from the group -- now six members strong -- came from Chicago natives Matt Deponte and Lisa Schreck.

"I don't have any cash," Deponte, 36, told the group, holding up an unopened pack of cigarettes that drew rousing applause before it was shared among the group.

"I've been there. It's tough," Deponte said later. "I understand cops perspective, but I don't think you can generalize. I've seen some aggressive locals."

Edited to include the article text.


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## sandpaper cowboy

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## Matt Derrick

at the risk of being like, 'i told you so', i've been saying this is coming down the pipe for a while now. the only good news is that this is solely targeted at gutter punks, so if you're homeless/squatting in nola without a pack you probably don't have much to worry about. the cops will probably crack down harder though as time goes on.


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## Deleted member 125

isnt it a god damn well known thing to not bum out nola? walking around flying yer train flag is whatever but to show yer ass in front of locals anywhere is just rude and of course yer going to gain attention, not that this is anything new. why is this surprising to any of us that if you goto nola, meet 40 other train riders, pass around 15 bottles of booze and 8 space bags that by 2pm everyone will be in OPP?


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## Matt Derrick

cantcureherpes said:


> isnt it a god damn well known thing to not bum out nola? walking around flying yer train flag is whatever but to show yer ass in front of locals anywhere is just rude and of course yer going to gain attention, not that this is anything new. why is this surprising to any of us that if you goto nola, meet 40 other train riders, pass around 15 bottles of booze and 8 space bags that by 2pm everyone will be in OPP?



to be honest, it's just plain old nihilism. the people doing this don't give a fuck about anyone besides themselves.


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## Deleted member 125

Matt Derrick said:


> to be honest, it's just plain old nihilism. the people doing this don't give a fuck about anyone besides themselves.


its fucking embaressing. im not saying lets bring back beating people with smileys and tossing em outta boxcars when they drink too much to teach a lesson of some kind, but this kind of shit is just getting old to read about and even older to be a part of a group of people who act like this. im sure they arnt all bad folk or even that any of em deserve to be in jail, but if we cant police ourselves...


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## sandpaper cowboy

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## Jaguwar

Probably not generally that bad, to be perfectly honest. The general truth is may people are decent, occasionally they get out of control for brief periods, nothing more. The problem is when you're in the fringes, the general population well treat you like... well, frankly like poor black ghetto people. One incident will trigger a knee jerk reaction that drags everyone else on the same fringe group (i.e. transients, or train hoppers in particular, it whatever) into the same boat regardless of individual action. In short, everyone gets judged not by the content on their character but by their... housing status, let's say. 

All that to say, in a population that is small by definition, I'm guessing this isn't as common or even as dangerous as media accounts would lead one to believe. 

on the other hand, if people were generally better at policing themselves, we wouldn't want or need police or government or any of that stuff. not really. Since we still have those institutions... *shrug*


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## Deleted member 125

sandpaper cowboy said:


> How common are the ones who act this way out there? I haven't started travelling yet, but I've ran into some kids in the downtown areas of cities who were just so blatantly being arrogant, brat, pricks. They would ask people for money while mocking them and shit, and just being all around disrespectful.
> I lived in a punk house for awhile and we had a lot of train hopping kids over all the time and they were for the most part pretty chill. Good folk to drink a beer with.
> 
> So I guess what's the ratio is what I'm asking?



i avoid most train kids, does that answer yer question? i couldnt even give you a estimate because i stray away from that kind of thing, and im no saint either. but imo alot of people around my age give or take 5 or so years are usually asshole drunks or addicts who wear it almost as a badge of honor how many times they have been thrown in county for pulling bonehead shit and getting pinched.


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## Jaguwar

OH! I meant to add this :
Having said ALL that, there are some immature people out there. If they're also fairly young, let's say under 30,the level of stupid immaturity can be pretty high. Especially if they think they have nothing to lose, because they have nothing to contribute. To anyone. Does that make sense? 
For instance, I live in a college town. This means our so-called big problem here is mostly drunk college students. how old are they? Somewhere in between 20 and 30 of course. And there you go. It's not necessarily so much because they're on the streets, or because they're train hoppers, they're just young, dumb, full of cum, stupid... all of the above.


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## sandpaper cowboy

Deleted


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## pigpen

last time I was in town someone found a decapitated body under the wharf. it sounds like the cops spent more time coordinating this effort than they did to find out who was leaving dead junkies under the wharf, if that gives you an idea about how the NOPD views us...


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## sandpaper cowboy

pigpen said:


> last time I was in town someone found a decapitated body under the wharf. it sounds like the cops spent more time coordinating this effort than they did to find out who was leaving dead junkies under the wharf, if that gives you an idea about how the NOPD views us...



I can certainly believe that. If it was a mister Johnny Suburbonite they found under that wharf the entire state would've been swept for leads. From what I've seen of the NOPD, they love just beating the shit out of people and looking at tits. They call that a taco tuesday over there.

back to the point though, I can see where some resentment would get built up in homeless people, but I think it's important not to let the cancer that is bitterness eat away at them. There is enough bitter people in this world. I try to do my part by talking to people and trying to get them to have some compassion, but bitter people don't make it easy. Nothing wrong with being angry however, being angry can be a good motivator.


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## Deleted member 125

sandpaper cowboy said:


> There is enough bitter people in this world. I try to do my part by talking to people and trying to get them to have some compassion, but bitter people don't make it easy.



are you talking about trying to get compassionate from police? from police in nola? good fucking luck. its a lost cause.


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## Jaguwar

Sounds like Chicago and environs. Good thing I'm planning my NOLA trip for the first leg of my journey when I'll still have a running car. I especially don't want to be black and homeless there. *shudders*


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## sandpaper cowboy

[Deleted


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## bernie a pie

Thanks for posting article that listed those arrested.
A few of my friends are listed but they were just ticketed with court tomorrow actually for glass bottle. We were sitting on neutral ground.
they will be surprised to see an article stating they were arrested.
the police presence was noticeable days leading up to this night. state troopers were eVery where and nights before vendors were getting ticketed up Frenchman.
the aggressive guys out there do need to stop drinking so much and calm down.
the night my friends were ticketed we were having a good Ole jam session on neutral ground. Causing no problems. We weren't busking or spanging just playing music minding our own buisness.


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## Jaguwar

Thanks for the follow up, Bernie.
That's what I like best about this place: real communication about real things.


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## Hobo Huck

As a trainhopper, this is why I avoid 80% of other trainhoppers. Don't get me wrong, I have a ton of friends that are crusties and dirtykids, but NOLA is such a perfect example of how most of these scumfucks are blowing up the scene.

It's not the media or companies like Vice that is ruining the trainhopping scene, and causing agressive anti-vagrancy laws. Nope, you can thank 99.9% of that shit to the scumfucks and bums, period.

One nice thing about NOLA was that they would all bottle up there in the Winter, and mostly keep the infestation within a certain radius. Now that they're being pushed out, they're all going to Shreveport, Birmingham, Meridian, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, and blowing up those scenes as well.

It's like a lose/lose situation. Hate to say it, and I probably don't mean this literally, but I wish they would just all stay in NOLA all goddamn year long so I would know exactly which place to permanently avoid. Then I could freely enjoy the rest of America with other Vagabonds who have bigger aspirations than sitting on a sidewalk and panhandling for cheap vodka.


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## Odin

@Hobo Huck Thanks for that perspective...

As someone going to hit the road in the near future... that mostly when it counts keeps his head on straight.... this is good to know.

I still want to visit NOLA. To see some history and just experience it.

But I will keep my eyes open for trouble and my manners and class are always there for those that will welcome me.


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## Hobo Huck

Odin said:


> @Hobo Huck Thanks for that perspective...
> 
> As someone going to hit the road in the near future... that mostly when it counts keeps his head on straight.... this is good to know.
> 
> I still want to visit NOLA. To see some history and just experience it.
> 
> But I will keep my eyes open for trouble and my manners and class are always in check for those that will welcome me.



@Odin Yeah don't get wrong, though.

I love beer, and there have been a few rare occasions when I have had to panhandle for a bus ticket or whatever. In fact, that's just part of living on the road and being between jobs.

But that's alot different from panhandling every single day and spending 3/4s of your money on vodka, heroin, meth, and percocets, then blowing up the scene, and then hopping a train to the next town with the sole purpose of blowing that scene up as well.

That's not traveling, and that's not being a vagabond or a hobo. That's just a lazy excuse for escapism, staying unemployed, leeching off of society and other travelers, all for the purpose of supporting some shitty addiction. It's not fair for the local citizens, and it's not fair to put that burden/reputation on other travelers.

As far as visiting NOLA, it's definitely worth going to. Jackson Square and the riverwalk is really awesome, and so is Louis Armstrong park. I like checking out some of the old graveyards too...there are some really trippy gothic and victorian gravestones. You can also get a temporary job dishwashing in the French Quarter without even hardly trying.


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## VikingAdventurer

Hobo Huck said:


> That's not traveling, and that's not being a vagabond or a hobo. That's just a lazy excuse for escapism, staying unemployed, leeching off of society and other travelers, all for the purpose of supporting some shitty addiction. It's not fair for the local citizens, and it's not fair to put that burden/reputation on other travelers.



I agree with you, @Hobo Huck .
This is also why I generally travel solo. I do sometimes panhandle, but recently I've found that (for me personally) finding potential jobs/work in different states is more exciting, and gives me a reason to travel to some specific place. :ompus::


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## Wawa

The phrase "illegal vending" makes me ragey. It's fucked up when you can generally get away with non aggro spanging, but if you try to actually earn money they come down on you even harder!


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## Durp

Well the one positive is no one had their dog taken for real, and the pooches probably got some much needed medical attention, shots ect. if you are tired of getting fucked with by cops, blend in better. Idk I leave when I see the the 5-o around in strange numbers.... sort of common sense I thought, but eh I'm not a fucking junky so I don't associate with that crowd. Did tone my style back just a smidge and it made all the difference. I'm more concerned about not getting fucked with than looking "cool"


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## Wawa

Huh, just noticed some kind of "keep the french quarter safe" sponsored facebook ad popping up, full of confused comments which seem to merge violent criminals and drunk bums into a single entity. Whattabuncha handwringing.


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## Jaguwar

Yep, that's the way things go with "ordinary" people.


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## Anagor

Huck, you are a hobo with quite a high standard when it comes to work ethics, hobo tradition, hobo ethical code at alike. I respect that and I'm not far away from you since I plan to change my life (studied/worked and worked the last 23 years - last 2 years 9-5) and travel and work (in my case computer stuff I guess - but you never know). 



Hobo Huck said:


> Then I could freely enjoy the rest of America with other Vagabonds who have bigger aspirations than sitting on a sidewalk and panhandling for cheap vodka.



Said that, I think it's nothing wrong with sitting on a sidewalk and panhandling for cheap booze. I think the lifestyle we're talking about here is all about freedom. And if you want to do something like that ... why not? Can be fun. 

*But* you can still be a friendly, nice person. Know what you can do and what you shouldn't do (according to local laws, for example). Keep your booze somewhat concealed. Don't get aggressive, don't annoy your fellow travelers, juppies, shop owners or the grandma just coming by.

I don't know how it's in the states since I wasn't there yet, let alone NOLA. But I guess it's just the amount of travelers there with a quite large percentage of people who just can't handle their booze/drugs and/or forgot their good upbringing (or never had one).

*tl;dr *It's not always about what you do, it's about how you do it.


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## bernie a pie

I get that NOLA has a ton of scum bags and addicts. but I am friends with nearly everyone on that list of "arrested", ticketed in reality. And none of them are junkies. I was trying to express that OPP came after the ones that were minding our own buisness...not spanging...not being agro..playing music..and we had one liquor bottle with about ten people around. Some of us had worked that night and met up after. I am a van dweller with NOLA as my home base...it has been for over a decade. As a solo female traveler with no addiction NOLA has been a great city for me. I can get a waitress job in a second and have a ton of great people that help look out for me.
those targeted that night were undeserving of that. there are some great spots for travelers to meet up...one being the spot we all were ticketed. ...the junkies stick to them selves and avoided police that night.


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## bernie a pie

Addicts. ..drunks...assholes ... they are in every city.
but don't forget to see the good ones around.


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## Jaguwar

See, that's particularly unfortunate. people getting caught in the crossfire. tsk


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## Matt Derrick

bernie a pie said:


> I get that NOLA has a ton of scum bags and addicts. but I am friends with nearly everyone on that list of "arrested", ticketed in reality. And none of them are junkies. I was trying to express that OPP came after the ones that were minding our own buisness...not spanging...not being agro..playing music..and we had one liquor bottle with about ten people around. Some of us had worked that night and met up after. I am a van dweller with NOLA as my home base...it has been for over a decade. As a solo female traveler with no addiction NOLA has been a great city for me. I can get a waitress job in a second and have a ton of great people that help look out for me.
> those targeted that night were undeserving of that. there are some great spots for travelers to meet up...one being the spot we all were ticketed. ...the junkies stick to them selves and avoided police that night.



what ive been saying is that thanks to the people that have been dicks and making a nuisance of themselves, people like yourself and your friends (and the community as a whole) has to pay the price for their stupidity. it's definitely not fair, but it's also not going to stop until we as a community start making it clear that this shit isn't going to be tolerated anymore.


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