Trial of former New Orleans 911 Director Tyrell Morris continues into second day

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Day two of the trial of former head of the Orleans Parish Communication District Tyrell Morris began Wednesday, Sept. 24, as he faces multiple criminal charges.

Multiple witnesses took the stand, including current and past parish communications employees, as well as the man Morris allegedly hit in the crash.

The alleged crash victim, William Robinson Jr., testified that he thought he was being pulled over by a police officer due to Morris shining his blue lights. He also says he left the scene and stayed quiet, even after Morris reportedly asked him if he wanted an officer called due to not having a license or insurance.

The former OPCD HR manager, Aliska Landry, testified that it was company policy that all employees, including Morris, must report accidents to HR. She claimed HR was never notified about the crash.

Anthony Jones, who runs the Innovative Risk Management, which provides the OPCD’s drug and alcohol testing provider, testified that they did not get a report for Morris after the 2023 crash.

Retired New Orleans Police Department Sgt. and former OPCD employee Claude Flot testified Morris was never supposed to have a vehicle with blue lights, as he wasn’t a post-certified law enforcement officer. Morris is accused of disregarding that rule.

OPCD Maintenance Supervisor Dayton Gibson testified he learned of the crash the next day from Morris via text. Gibson was reportedly told the car needed to be towed from Morris’s home. To his knowledge, Gibson says the company policy requires HR to be notified after accidents, but that allegedly never happened.

Former OPCD employee Jared Brossett testified that when the media found out about the crash, Morris held a meeting and stated that someone was leaking information. Brossett said Morris accused him later of leaking the information, which he says he didn’t. He went on to add, to his knowledge, Morris allegedly never sought drug or alcohol testing after the crash, which was protocol.

The current communications district director, Karl Fasold, testified that their vehicle policy was updated by Morris after the crash on May 11, 2023. Fasold says altering documents in their system is not an easy process and takes time. He added that Morris had previously talked about removing the clause pertaining to mandatory drug and alcohol testing after accidents.

Morris says he is waiting for the time to tell his side of the story.

“This has been a difficult two years for me. Right? And I’m looking forward to it coming to an end. But I’m really looking forward tomorrow to being able to tell my side of the story, either through witnesses or myself. In a way that is clear. And I, you know, not filtered. And I can be very open and honest about what happened that opportunity hasn’t been provided up until this point, ” said Morris.

The trial is expected to continue on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

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