Sheriff tells Leadership St. Bernard the department is finishing the last of three new sub-stations at parish borders at no cost to residents and continues quick response times to calls for service

Sheriff James Pohlmann told a meeting of Leadership St. Bernard that quick response times to calls for service remains the hallmark of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office and the parish remains safe despite the challenge of being located next to an urban area.

The sheriff also said the department is finishing the last of three new sub-stations at parish borders at no cost to residents.

Sheriff Pohlmann spoke to the Leadership St. Bernard program on May 5, where several local leaders and elected officials offered their own perspectives on their departments and the opportunities moving St. Bernard forward.

The program, which is in its second year, is sponsored and coordinated through the St. Bernard Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Foundation to engage citizens in networking with leaders and identifying needs, resources, and opportunities for St. Bernard Parish.

The course also included presentations by Craig DeHarde with the parish Dept. of Recreation, Councilman Guy McInnis, Assessor Jaylynn Turner, and District Attorney Perry Nicosia. For more information on Leadership St. Bernard visit http://www.stbernardchamber.org/leadership.

Sheriff Pohlmann said there is a heavy responsibility in overseeing a Sheriff’s Office which averages 3,000 calls for service every month and makes 200 arrests per month, as well as running 24-hour a day operations for a prison, communications division and patrol division. “We have a lot to do with 280 employees.’’

The hiring process for officers was also ungraded involving creation of a hiring board made up of experienced deputies who interview applicants and make recommendations he reviews, the sheriff said.

Using a pool of money from FEMA, along with a donation of land along Paris Road from the Meraux Foundation, the Sheriff’s Office is building three new sub-stations at the entrances to St. Bernard at no cost to parish residents.

The building housing the station now on Paris Road has been leased but building the department’s own place on Paris Road will free up the money used for leasing to go toward utilities for all the new buildings, the sheriff said.

Increased training programs for deputies have been implemented, the sheriff said, and through grants the department has been successful in obtaining money used to get its first mobile emergency command post, a patrol boat big enough to be used on the Mississippi River and a deep-water trucks that can used for evacuating residents in a rain storm event.

The sheriff also acknowledged that like elsewhere in the nation, drug abuse – particularly a surge in heroin use being seen throughout many areas – remains a problem and is the leading cause of property crimes. Addicts steal to get money to feed their habit, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

“If you could fix the drug problem you fix the crime problem,’’ he said.

The sheriff has often said he believes in drug abuse resistance programs in schools starting with very young students, including testing on it as part of the curriculum.

He told Leadership St. Bernard that spending money on education on the front end to prevent kids from getting hooked on drugs would be better than paying the costs of incarceration as well as drugs’ toll on society in general once children have grown up dependent on them.

“We know you can’t arrest your way out of the drug problem,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said. Education and rehabilitation treatment programs are the best chance at a solution, he said.

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“Savannah’s Challenge” comes to St. Bernard as school children say thank you to police officers

Darlene Cusanza, President and CEO of Crimestoppers GNO, talks to students at Prompt Succor School about the project to have students write thank you cards to law enforcement officers thanking them for the job they do.	Prompt Succor School Principal Sharon Coll speaks as students and teachers gather behind her.
Prompt Succor School students present baskets of snacks to officers attending the event.	Sheriff James Pohlmann speaks with students at Arabi Elementary
At Arabi Elementary, Sheriff James Pohlmann, Principal Carla Carollo and Crimestoppers GNO President Darlene Cusanza, with students behind them.	At Arabi Elementari, deputies, Sheriff Pohlmann, Principal Carollo and Cusanza of Crimestoppers with third-grade students.

Saying thank you to police officers for the jobs they do is a big undertaking.

In St. Bernard Parish, school children have accepted “Savannah’s Challenge,’’ a mushrooming project of a young Texas girl named Savannah Solis, who began writing cards to officers to thank them for protecting her community.

“My goal is to tell as many police officers as I can that I love them, and I am thankful for all that they do for us,” Solis has said, adding she is trying to change negativity directed toward police officers. She was moved to send 200 cards to police in New York after NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were shot and killed in their patrol car last December.

In association with Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans, St. Bernard children have begun presenting hundreds of cards to officers of the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office, with Sheriff James Pohlmann expressing appreciation for their effort.

Some of the cards are poignant, such as a boy who thanked officers for saving his life after he was once bitten by a pit bull. Others are cute, like a girl who wrote, “You inspire me to be a cop, fireman or government agent. I might be all three of them.’’

Others are just straight-forward. Like one who said, “You protect us. You bring justice’’ and another who wrote, “I like you cause you help people be safe.’’

Darlene Cusanza, President and CEO of Crimestoppers – the nonprofit group that offers rewards for information leading to arrests in high-profile crimes – along with Sheriff Pohlmann and about 20 sheriff’s deputies from all divisions took part in receiving cards of thanks at two St. Bernard schools.

Students at Our Lady of Prompt Succor School and at Arabi Elementary presented several hundred cards that Crimestoppers had asked schools to prepare. Other schools will also present cards.

Cusanza said thousands of cards were sent by her group for school students in 3rd- through 7th-grades in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany and other parishes in the New Orleans area.

Crimestoppers issued a challenge to the private and public schools to join them in writing thank you letters to local law enforcement to thank them for all they do for the community, Cusanza said.

At an assembly at Prompt Succor, Principal Sharon Coll told students, teachers and officers that it is proper to thank officers for the jobs they do. Students also presented officers with baskets of snacks as well as thank you cards.

“I have lived here most of my life and I’ve never felt so safe,’’ the principal said.

Cusanza thanked students for preparing the cards and said of police: “They have the courage to protect us.’’

Sheriff Pohlmann said, “Law enforcement officers are going through challenging times’’ because of heightened negative feelings toward some police around the country.

But receiving such thank you cards makes officers feel appreciated, he said.

At Arabi Elementary, Principal Carla Carollo told students and officers, “We have had great response’’ from deputies to any problems in the neighborhood, “We feel confident and safe. (Police) do a good job.’’

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Paris Blanchard-Edwards of Violet and Kelsea Glorioso of Meraux receive $500 scholarships from La. Sheriff’s Association Scholarship Program; Both to attend LSU

Kelsea Glorioso, third from left, and Paris Blanchard-Edwards, second from the right, have received $500 scholarships from the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association Scholarship Program and both will attend LSU. Shown from left are parents of Glorioso, C.J. and Crissy Arcement, Glorioso, Sheriff James Pohlmann, Blanchard-Edwards and her father, John Edwards.

Sheriff James Pohlmann with Kelsea Glorioso, left, and Paris Blanchard-Edwards.

Paris Blanchard-Edwards of Violet and Kelsea Glorioso of Meraux have been named recipients of $500 academic scholarships from the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association Scholarship Program for the 2014-2015 school year, Sheriff James Pohlmann announced.

Blanchard-Edwards and Glorioso are graduating Chalmette High School and both will attend Louisiana State University; Blanchard-Edwards to major in pre-veterinary and Glorioso to major in architecture.

Glorioso’s parents are Crissy and C.J. Arcement. Blanchard-Edwards’ parents are Conchetta and John Edwards.

Glorioso, among other activities, was in the Key Club in high school and Blanchard-Edwards played volleyball and participated in track and field in high school.

The Sheriff’s Scholarship is funded through donations to the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association Honorary Membership Program. Louisiana sheriffs provide scholarships to graduating high school students from each parish in which the sheriff is an affiliate of the program.

Qualities including academic achievement, leadership and character are considered in making selections of Sheriff’s scholarship recipients. Applicants must be residents of Louisiana and the scholarships must be used in higher education within the state.

The St. Bernard Parish’s Sheriff’s Office participates in the Sheriff’s Association program and Sheriff Pohlmann met with the winners and family members.

Sheriff Pohlmann said, “What I like about the program is it invests in Louisiana’s future and gives something back to our community. This wouldn’t be possible without the kind and generous support of St. Bernard Parish’s honorary members in the Louisiana Sheriff’s Honorary Membership Program.’’

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Crimestoppers GNO partners with the FBI and Sheriff Pohlmann to host a second area-wide pool tournament in Chalmette to bring together law enforcement officers

Without question, Lacy’s Cue in Chalmette will be the safest place in the New Orleans area the night of May 15 as some 90 federal agents, sheriffs, police chiefs and other cops gather for a second annual law enforcement pool tournament to build relationships between area-wide agencies.

Police from more than 20 agencies participated with numerous other officers attending the event when held in May of last year at Lacy’s on West Judge Perez Drive and similar numbers are expected again.

Crimestoppers GNO will partner with the FBI and Sheriff Pohlmann to host the second area-wide pool tournament in Chalmette to bring together law enforcement officers. Syarting time is 6 p.m. at Lacy’s Cue.

“It was a great turnout and a big success last year,’’ said Darlene Cusanza, President and CEO of the nonprofit group Crimestoppers, adding it was a fun way for law enforcement to network with each other and Crimestoppers. “More than 90 officers took part and agencies had a chance to meet each other.’’

Michael Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI office in New Orleans since 2012, was one of the driving forces in suggesting an area-wife law enforcement pool tournament last year as a means for cops to get together socially.

Anderson, who played in the tournament and said he has played pool since 12 when he began with his father and brother, said the evening was exactly what he had in mind as a way for officers to meet and talk.

“In this type of event there is a lot of time for people to mingle,’’ which promotes agencies being able to work together, Anderson said.

A team composed of one person from the FBI and one from the Orleans Criminal Sheriff’s Office won the tournament last year.

Sheriff James Pohlmann, whose St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office had numerous employees participate in the tournament, said the event is a good way to meet other officers from federal, state and local agencies.

“Criminals don’t worry about boundary lines separating parishes,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said. “A bad guy from one parish can commit a crime in another. So it’s important law enforcement can work together on matters that cross jurisdictional lines. When law enforcement officers from various agencies meet in a casual atmosphere it fosters better cooperation.’’

He added, “It is always easier to deal with people you have met and spoken with before.’’

Plus, Sheriff Pohlmann said, the pool tournament is a good way to feature Crimestoppers “because that group has been so important in helping law enforcement through its program of offering cash rewards for tips on criminal suspects, which has led to so many arrests over the years.’’

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Arabi woman hospitalized with smoke inhalation after her son set fire to their home; He is jailed, booked with attempted murder and aggravated arson

An Arabi woman was hospitalized with smoke inhalation on Thursday, April 30, after her son set fire to their home and he is jailed, booked with attempted murder and aggravated arson, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Jomeca Hawkins, 35, 228 Coney Drive, suffered smoke inhalation in the fire that started about 11 a.m. Hawkins was outside her home and initially unresponsive when sheriff’s deputies and firefighters arrived as she was being helped by a neighbor.

After emergency technicians and Fire Department personnel gave her aid she said her son, Joseph Andrews, 19, who she said has a bipolar disorder, had tried to kill her by setting the fire while she was inside their home. The mother was transported to St. Bernard Parish Hospital.

On Thursday evening she was transferred to a Baton Rouge Hospital.

Sheriff’s deputies found Andrews on foot several blocks away and recovered two knives on him, Sheriff Pohlmann said. He wasn’t injured.

Officials said the blaze, which caused damage to the house, appeared to have been intentionally set.

Andrews was taken to St. Bernard Parish Prison where he was booked with attempted murder of his mother and aggravated arson. He will appear before a magistrate judge Friday to have bond set.

Andrews is being held in lieu of bond set Friday at $250,000.

The sheriff said Andrews has a criminal history including a prior drug arrest.

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