New Orleans authorities are on the hunt for a pot-looting pack of rodents who were able to break into an evidence room at police headquarters and make off with a substantial amount of narcotics.
"The rats are eating our marijuana. They're all high," Anne Kirkpatrick, superintendent of the city's police department, told a council committee meeting on Monday.
As part of a pitch to fund her squad's move into a new location in the Big Easy's downtown, Police Chief Kirkpatrick spilled details behind the gang of "suspects" to councilors, according to The Guardian.
Kirkpatrick explained to the city's criminal justice committee that the feeble mid-city criminal justice building where the police department currently stands is no longer a viable workplace, seeing that it was built in 1968 and sits atop extremely poor conditions.
Aside from the plethora of rat feces on all surfaces, there is also an infestation of cockroaches piling on top of several maintenance issues, including broken elevators, out-of-service plumbing, and an air conditioning unit that gave out the previous summer. The repairs total more than $6 million.
"It is not just at police headquarters. It is all the districts. The uncleanliness is off the charts," Kirkpatrick told councilors. "The janitorial cleaning [team] deserves an award, trying to clean what is uncleanable."
The chief made sure to note the rat's break-in and snuffing of marijuana is highly problematic, mainly due to its potential to affect ongoing criminal cases.
A motion approved by the committee would ideally see the department occupy two floors of a downtown office building under a 10-year lease, should it pass a full council vote in the coming weeks.
City officials agree the lack of a proper police station is a priority case among other tenants who are also based out of the criminal justice building and acknowledged for the time being that they will be left behind.
"I foresee most of the criminal justice agencies will have to be temporarily housed as we address these old decrepit buildings," said Gilbert Montaño, the chief administrative officer.
"Right now, we are addressing police headquarters because it is in dire straits."
