Richard A. Webster

Police can arrest people for “cover charges,” like resisting arrest, to justify their use of excessive force and shield themselves from liability. In Jefferson Parish, 73% of the time someone is arrested on a “cover charge” alone, they’re Black.

In Louisiana, law enforcement agencies have been accused of targeting Hispanic drivers in traffic stops and identifying them as white on tickets. Misidentification makes it impossible to track racial bias, experts say.

Julio Alvarado, a Jefferson Parish deputy who was seen on video violently dragging a woman by the hair, has been named in nine federal civil rights lawsuits, all involving the use of excessive force. This is the most of any deputy currently employed.

Black residents of Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish have long accused the Sheriff’s Office of targeting them. A new video, which shows a deputy slamming a Black woman’s head into the ground, raises more questions.

For years, Black residents of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, have voiced complaints about abuses and a lack of accountability in its Sheriff’s Office. Unlike in neighboring New Orleans, no one has stepped in to help.

After Hurricane Ida, elected officials, local law enforcement, the Louisiana National Guard, religious groups and volunteers have attempted to meet the immediate needs — ice, water, food and fuel — of those in Louisiana's bayou communities, but housing remains foremost.

The storm-related death toll from Hurricane Ida has risen to 10, according to numbers released Friday by the Louisiana Department of Health.

At about 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, just two days after Hurricane Ida pummeled New Orleans, plunging the city into a total blackout, more than 100 cars sat idling in a cue on North Rampart Street. The line stretched for several blocks, ending at a Chevron gas station at St. Louis Street just outside the French Quarter.