Police officials paid thousands in overtime after ‘side trip’ to Vegas
A group of Louisiana State Police officials, including the head of the agency's Internal Affairs Division, were paid thousands of dollars in overtime last year while driving across the country to attend a law enforcement conference in San Diego — a scenic but circuitous road trip that included overnight stays at the Grand Canyon and a Las Vegas resort and casino.
The questionable expenses, outlined in travel records obtained by The Advocate, were on top of tens of thousands of dollars the State Police spent otherwise to send at least 15 people to the annual conference in October of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a four-day event that attracts a who's who of law enforcement leaders.
The decision to send such a large entourage drew sharp criticism from one watchdog organization, which last week accused the agency of squandering money at a time when state lawmakers are struggling to fix a dire financial crisis.
Col. Mike Edmonson, the State Police superintendent, said he had not authorized the troopers to charge overtime — three of the four did, he said — or to take such an indirect route to the conference. The troopers drove 3,906 miles altogether but went hundreds of miles out of their way at times for reasons that are under investigation.
On Saturday, Edmonson said he has ordered an internal review of the journey, an inquiry he said could result in disciplinary measures and changes to State Police travel policy.
"It's embarrassing to me to say that I paid them to drive there, so I'm making them pay that back," Edmonson said, referring to dozens of hours of overtime billed to taxpayers. "These are all people who have respected positions in State Police. I certainly trust them, but I'm disappointed in them claiming overtime hours and I'm disappointed in the side trip to Vegas.
"They need to explain to me why they thought that was an important thing to do, and we'll look at it from that perspective," he added. "The bottom line is I expect more from these individuals, and I'm not happy about it."
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This story was originally published February 19, 2017 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Police officials paid thousands in overtime after ‘side trip’ to Vegas."