NEW ORLEANS – An infestation of rats at the headquarters of the New Orleans Police Department has apparently left the rodents stoned and the volume of marijuana booked as evidence is shrinking, according to the police superintendent.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick is battling a new adversary: an army of rats that has begun feasting on drugs stored in the evidence room, the Daily Beast reported.
On Monday, Kirkpatrick told the City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee that the police department needs to relocate its facilities to a downtown high rise in order to escape the unbearable conditions.
“The rats are eating our marijuana. They’re all high,” Kirkpatrick was quoted as saying by local media.
In addition to getting stoned, the superintendent noted the rodents have left feces on desks, and cockroaches have also moved in.
“The uncleanliness is off the charts,” Kirkpatrick noted.
Her comments regarding the conditions in the building that first opened in 1968 comes after the department spent years lobbying for a new location for its headquarters.
On Monday, the City Council approved a motion to authorize a pending 10-year lease agreement that would see the department relocate to the upper two floors of 1615 Poydras Tower in the center of the city.
