Police officers interview a man at the scene of an alleged robbery on Clara Street near Valence. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)
After a recent rash of violent armed robberies in Uptown New Orleans, report of another on Clara Street on Wednesday afternoon drew the rapid response of nearly a dozen officers, but the alleged victim then withdrew his account, raising investigators’ suspicions as to what actually happened in the first place.
The robbery was first reported shortly after noon on Clara near Valence, just a few blocks away from Oschner Baptist Medical Center. Patrol officers swept through the area looking for a suspect while detectives began interviewing the alleged victim and his friend, but the two gave differing accounts of the robbery, “which raised our suspicions that a robbery actually occurred,” said Lt. Mike Montalbano of the NOPD Second District investigative unit.
Detectives took the two men back to the Second District station for further questioning, and there the alleged victim became irate and told the detectives to “just write my report,” Montalbano said. When the police told him they would investigate the robbery and attempt to confirm his account, Montalbano said he said he no longer wanted to talk to police, and he was taken back to Clara Street.
“People need to understand we don’t just write reports. We investigate crimes,” Montalbano said. “We want every officer from initial to detective to investigate thoroughly. If someone gives a statement, we want confirm that. If a crime has been committed, we want to know about it, for many reasons.”
The call of the robbery came during the Second District’s weekly meeting, just as Commander Darryl Albert was touting a ninth day in a row of no robberies after a vicious run of them earlier in the month. The key to suppressing them, Albert said, was a combination of high-visibility patrols, adjusted shift hours, and an influx of officers from outside the district to patrol the hardest-hit areas.
“The plan is working. The adjustments we’ve made are working,” Albert said. “We’re in a position to gain some ground.”
Contact Robert Morris at rmorris@NolaMessenger.com, or post your comment below.
Although Second District claims no robberies in the past 9 days, there have been two burglaries in my neighborhood in the past week. I’m no so certain what they are doing is “working” in my neighborhood. I would like to see more patrols in my area (which is between Freret St. & Claiborne Ave. and Napoleon & Louisiana Ave.).
Noelle, the Milan area was the focus of the Second District’s manpower prior to these robberies, so I’d say your neighborhood probably has seen a substantial decrease in police presence in the last few weeks. The extra officers have to come from somewhere.
It often seems to me that police are limited to chasing one crime spree after another around the city – when someone goes on a rampage, they flood the area until they get him or he goes somewhere else. That pattern, just like the desire of neighborhoods to hire these off-duty officers, raises the larger question of whether we have enough police to protect this city. In my opinion, of course.
Thanks for your comment. In the meantime, take comfort in knowing Milan has some of the hardest-working and most vigilant neighbors I’ve met in the city.