Filed Under: Vermin, Vice & Very Bad Policing
In an astonishing revelation shaking the foundations of the New Orleans Police Department, former officers have exposed a decade-long issue where rats have been feasting on narcotics stored in the evidence room. The revelation, made public on March 11 by Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, underscored a plea for increased funding to overhaul the dilapidated NOPD facilities.
Chief Kirkpatrick’s disturbing account during a City Council meeting unveiled the rodent crisis, “In the evidence property room… we’ve seen rodents on the floor. Rats eating marijuana. They’re all high,” she described, painting a surreal picture of the condition inside one of the city’s most critical spaces.
Kenny Guidry, a former officer who retired in 2020, corroborated the tale, recalling his encounters with the inebriated intruders during his tenure managing evidence for court cases. His early mornings were often met with the sight of disoriented rats, struggling to scurry away under the sudden light. “A little slow. A little wobble. Yes. The rats were wobbly on the way out,” Guidry reminisced.
The evidence warehouse, recently ‘decorated’ with graffiti art of a rat, holds the entirety of the narcotics evidence for NOPD. The situation has become fodder for citywide and national jokes, especially after the discovery of compromised evidence bags, torn open with missing contents, casting shadows on the integrity of criminal prosecution.
The legal community has raised alarms over the implications of such tampering. “You have a certain amount of evidence that is weighed before you go to court, and it could be a problem,” Guidry highlighted, pointing to the potential jeopardy of legal proceedings. Legal Analyst Joe Raspanti added, “If Ronnie the rat eats a hole in the bag, that means anything could have been put in the bag, and the chain of evidence is broken.”
Despite the uproar, Keith Lampkin, spokesperson for the Orleans Parish District Attorney, remains confident that this peculiar predicament won’t affect prosecutions or convictions. A planned inspection of the evidence room alongside Chief Kirkpatrick aims to assess the extent of the issue and its possible impact on pending cases.
As the city grapples with this bizarre challenge, officials are also tackling other infrastructure woes plaguing NOPD facilities, with a hefty $20 million earmarked for maintenance next year in a bid to fortify the department’s physical and operational integrity.
In a light-hearted twist to the tale, city officials have yet to comment on whether the offending rats will be charged with tampering with evidence, or if a special task force will be deployed to tackle the high-flying culprits. The silence leaves many to wonder if New Orleans is on the brink of instituting the first Rodent Rehabilitation Program, aimed at curbing the appetites of its most mischievous inhabitants.
© 2025 Pot Culture Magazine. All rights reserved. This content is the exclusive property of Pot Culture Magazine and may not be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in critical reviews.
Discover more from POT CULTURE MAGAZINE
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Leave a comment