State Police have been assisting New Orleans Police with carnival season the last few weeks and will be stepping up patrols. The highly anticipated weekend will draw larger crowds and Trooper Melissa Matey says LSP will be deploying over 170 troopers to the area to assist in the festivities.
“In and around the city of New Orleans, the French Quarter, and the surrounding area, we’re going to be working hand in hand with not only the New Orleans Police Department but the FBI,” said Matey.
Matey said LSP has many different moving parts for Mardi Gras and some of the troopers will be working undercover, wearing plain street clothes.
“They are really going to be on proactive patrol. They are going to be looking for guns, drugs, anything people should not be bringing to those parade routes. On top of that, we will have uniformed patrol in and around the entire metropolitan area,” said Matey.
Matey said troopers want to make sure everyone has a safe Mardi Gras, so they’ll be on the lookout for impaired drivers on the roadways.
“There’s so many consequences to a DWI, and impaired driving is certainly not worth that. So make sure you are making a good decision behind the wheel,” said Matey.
