Discipline for former NOPD captain who committed payroll fraud reinstated by state appeals court

A former NOPD captain who committed payroll fraud will bear the full brunt of the original discipline meted out by NOPD, according to a ruling issued by the state's Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal on Wednesday.

NOPD officer Sabrina Richardson, who between 2019 and 2021 claimed work hours while also being paid for a private Fair Grounds detail, had the bulk of her 120-day suspension overturned in September after a successful appeal to the Civil Service Commission.

But the Fourth Circuit sided with NOPD, reinstating Richardson's original 120-day suspension and rendering her ineligible for back pay for those hours.

"As a captain supervising the department that investigates misconduct by members of NOPD, Richardson should be held to a higher standard," a three-judge panel wrote. "We believe that it is fair to expect such a high-ranking member of NOPD to report a pattern of abuse, not profit from it."

A 24-year veteran of the NOPD, Richardson was promoted to sergeant in 2009, lieutenant in 2015, and commander of the department's Public Integrity Bureau in 2019, a position she held for almost three years. She was among at least 11 officers the FBI investigated for payroll fraud after a timesheet analysis by whistleblower Charles "Skip" Gallagher revealed widespread abuse of the department's dual timekeeping systems.

Anonymous tipsters also weighed in.

"Officer Sabrina Richardson is working overtime at the Fairgrounds on Gentilly and is not there," one complainant said in a letter to the NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau. "I have taken video of her signing in and then going home when she should be providing security patrols around and in my neighborhood. She does not even wear her uniform." 

Then-Capt. Nicholas Gernon, now a deputy superintendent, investigated the allegations. He uncovered 46 violations of NOPD policy in his exhaustive Dec. 2021 examination of Richardson's NOPD timesheets, private detail timesheets and whereabouts via license plate readers. 

NOPD handed Richardson one of the stiffer courses of discipline: an unpaid 120-day suspension and demotion from captain to lieutenant. She took leave without pay beginning Oct. 24, 2022 and returned to work on Feb. 19, 2023, as a lieutenant assigned to the NOPD's Fourth District, public records show.

Richardson successfully appealed her 120-day suspension in Sept. 2023, when the Civil Service Department ordered she receive backpay for 73 of the days she was suspended. Commissioners found that in some cases, NOPD’s timesheet rules didn’t apply to Richardson because of her administrative position.

But the appeals court judges called the Civil Service Department's decision "arbitrary and capricious." 

"When those who are charged with enforcing departmental rules and policies take a laissez-faire attitude toward their duties, it is almost inevitable that the entire organization will follow suit," wrote Chief Judge Terri F. Love, Judge Roland L. Belsome and Judge Joy Cossich Lobrano. 

In 2023, Richardson was among the NOPD's highest-paid officers, drawing at least $131,800 in pay, including $17,478 from off-duty security gigs, public records show. Pay for NOPD recruits starts at $42,449.

On Friday morning, Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick welcomed 13 new recruits at their graduation ceremony at Dillard University, her words both a laurel and a warning.

"This badge serves as a testament to the trust that has been given to you by this community," she said. "You are the protectors of the Constitution. You are the guardians of peace. You should be the embodiment of integrity."