Mayor, Sheriff meet to discuss jail staffing issues
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Two days after the Orleans Parish Sheriff pulled deputies from court because of jail staffing, Mayor LaToya Cantrell met with Sheriff Susan Hutson to iron out a solution to manpower issues.
On the heels of two in-custody deaths over the weekend, Hutson pulled deputies from security details at the courthouse to work at the jail. The unprecedented move shut down jury trials for 24 hours. After meeting with the criminal district court Monday evening, officials secured partial staffing at the courthouse so trials could resume Tuesday.
The two city leaders met Tuesday afternoon for about 30 minutes to hash out a new staffing plan that won’t interfere with criminal court proceedings.
Officials say the meeting was productive and informative, and more work has to be done.
In an earlier press conference, Mayor Cantrell said she learned of Hutson’s decision Sunday evening in a phone call with a member of her administration.
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Mayor Cantrell said she expects a robust plan from Hutson to deal with the personnel issues.
The sheriff’s office has yet to respond to repeated requests from Fox 8 to make Hutson available for an interview.
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