[LA] NOPD Officer Lacour convicted of shooting gun outside ex's house

New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas has made it clear that the department has no tolerance for officers convicted of felonies - and that's a good policy. It should go without saying, then, that Officer Jermaine Lacour needs to be removed from the force... District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office lauded the conviction and said it will continue to go after people who use weapons illegally. That's even more important when the offender is a law enforcement officer who's supposed to uphold the law... NOPD spokeswoman Remi Braden said Lacour was suspended without pay following the jury verdict convicting him of illegally discharging a firearm... He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 15 and could face from zero to two years in prison...

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• [LA] Officer Lacour booked on domestic. Top cop says NOPD has zero tolerance for misconduct. - In a prepared statement, Superintendent Ronal Serpas said the NOPD has "zero tolerance for misconduct. Criminal allegations are serious and each individual will have their day in court. When an officer betrays the public's trust, swift and decisive actions will be taken. We will continue to build the public's trust with accountability, transparency and integrity."
• [LA] NOPD Officer Lacour's retrial for shooting gun at ex's house scheduled for September - ...[New Orleans police officer Jermaine] Lacour, who remains free on $5,000 bond, also was arrested June 7 for violating a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting [ex-girlfriend]... A ballistics expert tied three bullet casings on the ground to the 9mm police handgun that Lacour kept... "He's a man who doesn't like to be ignored. He's a man who's not used to being ignored," the prosecutor said...

ORLEANS PARISH JURY CONVICTS NOPD COP FOR FIRING GUN
The Times-Picayune
By John Simerman,
January 25, 2012
[Excerpts] An Orleans Parish jury convicted a New Orleans police officer of a felony weapons charge on Wednesday for firing a handgun outside his former girlfriend's home in late 2010. Jermaine Lacour, 38, who was suspended by NOPD following the incident, is expected to be fired after his conviction on a charge of illegal use of a weapon. He could be sentenced to as much as two years in prison, or as little as probation... Prosecutors said the four-year NOPD officer drove to the house of [K.A.], his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his young child ... on Dec. 29, 2010. While he was there, the ex-girfriend and a friend, Tulane University policeman [J.V.], got out of a car and headed to the door. Lacour demanded to see the toddler. Adams told him to wait. As she entered the house,  [K.A.] testified, she heard three shots... A ballistics expert tied three bullet casings on the ground to the 9mm police handgun that Lacour kept... "The district attorneys office takes gun crimes very seriously and this conviction should be a sign that we will do everything in our power to take people off the streets who are illegally using weapons," said Christopher Bowman, spokesman for Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office... "I just think that verdict, it was wrong," Lacour said. "I admit I shot my gun, but I was fired upon. I've never been arrested, never been in trouble in my life." [Full article here]

NOPD SUSPENDS POLICE OFFICER CONVICTED OF FIRING GUN
The Times-Picayune
By John Simerman,
January 26, 2012
[Excerpts] The New Orleans Police Department has suspended Officer Jermaine Lacour after his conviction Wednesday in a shooting incident outside his ex-girlfriend's home in late 2010. NOPD spokeswoman Remi Braden said Lacour, 38, was suspended without pay following the jury verdict convicting him of illegally discharging a firearm. Detectives with the NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau found that Lacour fired the weapon to threaten the woman and her boyfriend. The PIB is continuing its review of the incident for a final decision by NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas on terminating Lacour... He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 15 and could face from zero to two years in prison... Following the shooting, a judge instructed Lacour to stay away from the couple and to stop all communications with them, but Lacour called the woman several times and also sent her an e-mail... After she reported it, police notified the District Attorney's Office. Lacour turned himself in last June 7. A charge against Lacour of violating a protective order is still pending... In an October interview, Serpas laid out his policy for cops who get in trouble. "If you make a bad choice or decision unintentionally, your chances of surviving are pretty good, " Serpas said. "But if you make a decision that's purposefully bad, immoral or unethical, your chances of being employed are very slim. If you're going to be convicted of a felony, there's no room in the department for you"... [Full article here]

GUILTY OFFICER WARRANTS FIRING FROM NOPD: AN EDITORIAL
The Times-Picayune
By Editorial page staff
Saturday, January 28, 2012
[Excerpts] New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas has made it clear that the department has no tolerance for officers convicted of felonies - and that's a good policy. It should go without saying, then, that Officer Jermaine Lacour needs to be removed from the force... District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office lauded the conviction and said it will continue to go after people who use weapons illegally. That's even more important when the offender is a law enforcement officer who's supposed to uphold the law. After the verdict, Officer Lacour said his conviction "was wrong." He said, "I've never been arrested, never been in trouble in my life." That's not how jurors saw it. And Officer Lacour appears to be brushing aside his separate arrest in June, for violating a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting Ms. Adams. Office Lacour clearly believes that the law doesn't apply to him -- and he shouldn't be empowered with enforcing it. Indeed, his conviction makes him incompatible with the policy Superintendent Serpas has set regarding officers who get in trouble... [Full article here]
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