SWB employee accused of threatening to 'drag' city employee after parking tickets issued
An employee at the embattled New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board is accused of threatening a New Orleans parking enforcement officer.
The New Orleans Office of Inspector General said this started after tickets were issued this year in the 600 block of Saint Joseph Street near the sewerage and water board office.
One message from the SWB employee said: “see, this (expletive) really takes her job too serious. If I ever catch this (expletive) I’m a drag her all around New Orleans always giving me and my coworkers tickets.”
According to the report, a supervisor advised the parking enforcement officer to stop working in that area because of potential safety issues.
The report says, through investigation, the sewerage and water board employee may have violated the rules of the city's civil service commission by posting threatening messages on social media.
The report also says that the employee also violated city code because they say she refused to cooperate with their office. On two occasions, she either refused to answer questions or gave answers that were not truthful.
"A police report was filed with the NOPD for any action that they deem necessary,” Inspector General Edward Michel said.
A spokesperson for the sewerage and water board issued the following statement:
"We have counseled and warned our employees about parking violations around our buildings, which has included notifying Department of Public Works (DPW) Parking Enforcement and requesting their action when we see violations occur.
Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) is also working with DPW to increase the number of dedicated mobility-impaired parking spaces in front of our St Joseph location. We support our partners at the Department of Public Works in their parking enforcement efforts as well as the investigative efforts of the Office of Inspector General.
The employee in question had been held accountable and was subject to disciplinary action. The employee also expressed regrets about her actions and apologized to the alleged victim.
One of our many goals at SWBNO is to earn and hold the trust and confidence of our customers and community. Every day we work to hold our employees accountable to that vision on the job, and it is our hope they take that same standard with them outside the doors of our workplace."