Louisiana State Police Commissioner Exits Amid Corruption Claims

BATON ROUGE (KPEL News) - Former New Orleans Police Capt. Sabrina Richardson, who is currently facing a corruption investigation in New Orleans, has resigned from the Louisiana State Police Commission, which oversees discipline measures for state police.

Richardson offered her resignation to Governor John Bel Edwards on Thursday, according to the governor's office. The governor is the person who appoints the members of the state police commission.

She was a captain for NOPD, in charge of the department's Third District until she was stripped of that command last month. She used to run that department's Public Integrity Bureau, which investigates claims of wrongdoing.

At one point, she also served as a spokeswoman for the agency. However, Richardson was caught up this year in a probe of the department that sought to examine payroll problems. She is alleged to have abused the moonlighting system while working a regular Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots detail shift.

Her suspension from NOPD, according to NOLA.com, was "by far the longest for several officers who received them following an investigation into about 30 officers suspected of violating department policies regarding paid details. Most were found to have blown past daily or weekly work limits set under a federal consent decree."

This is the latest in long-running drama for both NOPD and LSP.

In New Orleans, officers are leaving the job in droves with no signs of anyone applying for openings in the force. Growing discontent with crime and a lack of enforcement from other sections of city government have left police demoralized there.

And Louisiana State Police have been under the limelight in recent months, ranging from the Ronald Greene investigation to the head of state police getting busted going 90 miles per hour on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge.

LSP is also dealing with the fallout from one of their own, the trooper better known as TikTok star "Stalekracker" being involved in a boating hit and run and refusing to take a lie detector test.