New Orleans: Officer arrested for obstruction of justice

Officer Wardell Johnson has been arrested and placed on emergency suspension for his initial police response to the domestic assault and actions he took after the initial investigation, the news release says. Boys is being charged with first-degree murder of a police officer, aggravated escape, illegal possession of a firearm and aggravated battery after fatally shooting officer Daryle Holloway while being transported to jail. They are investigating where Boys got the gun and have said it was not the officer’s weapon.

Harrison said the PIB Force Investigation Team “has spent countless hours collecting and reviewing evidence in this investigation, and we will continue to aggressively follow every lead to ensure justice for all victims involved”.

Shortly after the interview, the NOPD said in a news release detectives saw Johnson throw the box out of his window while driving near Morrison and Downman roads.

Johnson’s partner, Officer Ryan Morgan, has not been accused of any wrongdoing at present. “This is an example of sloppy police work with a clear intent to cover it up, and it will not stand”.

But there also have been questions about how a man who had been arrested and frisked managed to get a gun in the back of a police vehicle, shoot and kill an officer and then elude authorities for 24 hours.

Johnson was booked with obstruction of justice, malfeasance in office and theft.

Police cautioned that there was no suggestion that Johnson was connected to Holloway’s death, only to the investigation that directly preceded it. “There’s no evidence that shows that he knew Boys or that he attempted to help Boys cover anything up”, Gamble said. During an earlier memorial service for Holloway, his mother had asked the crowd to pray for Boys’s family.

Boys did not speak during the brief hearing. The New Orleans District Attorneyis seeking the death penalty for 33 year old Travis Boys.

Following Holloway’s shooting, there has been an outpouring of support for an officer who was widely praised for his sense of humor and connections with the community.