
photo from Metropolitan Crime Commission via WWL
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s temporary restraining order against a woman who photographed Cantrell and her then-bodyguard Jeffrey Vappie sharing dinner and wine while on duty at a French Quarter restaurant has been thrown out. Anne Breaud says she snapped the pictures of the two from her own balcony on April 7th due to safety concerns.
“My concern was for the police officer [Vappie] not doing his job, and for sitting there with a gun strapped to him, and drinking on a balcony, and smirking and laughing at me,” she said.
Breaud shared the photos with media outlets and watchdog groups, one of which filed a complaint with NOPD against Vappie. Vappie was subsequently investigated and taken off the mayor’s security detail. In response, Cantrell sued Breaud, arguing that Breaud had taken photos and hundreds of hours of video that she sent to the media. Breaud then counter-sued, saying she took the photos from the balcony of her apartment, never followed the mayor, and never took any other photos or videos and released them to the media.
Justin Schmidt, who represented Breaud in court, says while today was a victory for his client, the case sparked a bigger question than the photographs, adding, “there was private information released to the mayor that was included in her petition that wouldn’t be ordinarily available to regular citizens.”
The information in question included Breaud’s social security number, date of birth and an old photograph, all of which appeared on Cantrell’s petition unredacted.
The judge dismissed Cantrell’s temporary restraining order against Breaud, denied her a permanent restraining order and ordered her to pay all of Breaud’s legal fees, which Schmidt says is a good thing for both his client and free speech.
“I think Anne has done the citizens of New Orleans a great service this morning and set a great example that you don’t have to take it from government, that government works for you and not you for it,” he said.
Breaud is pursuing a counterclaim against Cantrell to figure out how the mayor got that sensitive information.
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