New Orleans police pause red-light camera ticketing pending review after Fox 8 investigation

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The New Orleans Police Department said Monday (Nov. 2) that it has suspended its red light ticketing program pending an internal review of officers assigned to the task.

Following Fox 8’s Unchecked Overtime investigation, the NOPD said the city’s Red Light Camera Review program is paused while it reviews timesheets of officers who logged overtime in the program last year.

NOPD Supt. Anne Kirkpatrick indicated her department’s review was initiated by media reports linked to overtime concerns. She said the department suspended the review program of the automated tickets after the Aug. 7 arrest of Senior Police Officer Brandon Coleman. Coleman is charged with 350 felonies linked to payroll fraud and theft, all tied to his work with the red light review overtime program.

UNCHECKED OVERTIME

• NOPD officer arrested on multiple counts of payroll fraud
• Fired NOPD sergeant’s payroll fraud case referred to federal prosecutors, source says
• New Orleans Inspector General alleges NOPD officer committed payroll fraud
• NOPD investigates fifth officer for timekeeping misconduct as former superintendent calls for accountability
• NOPD identifies another officer in overtime investigation after Fox 8 reports

Kirkpatrick indicated the internal review will cover officers who reviewed tickets in 2025, but offered no information on how it might affect drivers who were issued tickets. According to data obtained by Fox 8, NOPD officers issued more than 170,000 tickets in 2025.

An investigation conducted by New Orleans’ Office of Inspector General and the Louisiana State Police found Coleman would regularly log red light camera review overtime hours without logging any actual reviews into the review system.

That investigation also pointed to Coleman reviewing camera tickets at high speeds, sometimes as quickly as about 3 seconds per review.

The NOPD said that following its audit of the red-light camera review system, it plans to reinstate the program. The department did not say when it expects that to happen.

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