Orleans Clerk of Courts meets with Louisiana Police regarding court documents dumped

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The Orleans Parish Criminal Clerk of Court Darren Lombard met with state police as they investigate the dumping of court documents in a landfill. Something the clerk of court hopes once it’s resolved, it never occurs again.

“Why did they decide unilaterally without checking with the clerk of court to destroy those?” said Metropolitan Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche.

According to Lombard, about 75 percent of the documents have since been recovered.

But Lombard says the process has cost both time and money.

“Going through our inventory list, legacy inventory list, to see what was there and what is not there currently. So we have to go through the process of making sure those documents get restored,” said Lombard.

Lombard says the city has been cooperative, even offering a location for documents to be stored permanently. He hopes an incident like this never happens again.

“We want to make sure that it is secure and that we can safely move those documents into that location when it becomes available. Available to the public and for reporters and anyone who wants to do research,” said Lombard.

Governor Jeff Landry has ordered state police to look into what happened.

Both Lombard and Goyeneche welcome the investigation, with Goyeneche saying state troopers will treat this as a criminal investigation.

“Attempting to determine is if that violated any state laws. If you destroy a public record, that could potentially be a felony in this,” said Goyeneche.

The city’s Chief Administrative Officer Joe Threat previously acknowledged the mishap, but believes it was an accident as staff worked to demolish Hurricane Katrina trailers.

Goyeneche says state police will have to determine whether it was intentional or not, adding that it shows how things can go wrong when there’s a lack of communication between agencies.

“When you have city agencies that are not working together, you increase the potential of something like this occurring. Importance of communication, coordination and cooperation,” said Goyeneche.

Statement from Darren Lombard, Clerk of Criminal District Court and Chief Elections Officer for Orleans Parish after meeting:
“I had an excellent meeting today with investigators from the Louisiana State Police regarding the court records that were needlessly destroyed by the City. The LSP now has a clearer understanding of the importance of these documents and the City’s legal obligation to ensure their safe, secure storage—or to provide the necessary funding for the Clerk’s Office to do so.

Destroying court records is a crime of negligence at a minimum. I am confident the LSP will move swiftly to identify the individual or individuals responsible and determine the appropriate consequences.

I remain grateful for their prompt attention to addressing this egregious breach of duty.”

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