New Orleans chief says 60 officers fired
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-09 18:55

Officers missing for 14 days are being fired. Absences under 14 days result in a suspension, Riley said.

Riley defends the majority of his 1,500 officers, but he acknowledges that a handful of rogue cops had caused trouble and stirred uneasiness and mistrust in the public. The desertions, allegations of theft and looting, and the videotaped beating of a retired teacher by police in the French Quarter have tarnished the department's reputation nationally.

"It's my opinion that only 40 or 50 people, and hopefully some of them are gone, that really makes this department have a bad reputation," Riley said.

The FBI and federal drug enforcement agents will help train the department in behavior and leadership skills starting in January, Riley said.

In the meantime he hopes to see some of the investigations of his officers wrapped up.

The desertion hearing should be done by the end of February, and the three officers arrested for beating the teacher will be tried Jan. 11.

An investigation also continues into a shooting five days after the hurricane in which police confronted seven people on a bridge after workers in boats reported they had been fired on. Six people on the bridge were shot, two fatally.

The state attorney general's office and the police are also investigating vehicles from a dealership. Police say some were used for rescues and patrols after the department lost 300 vehicles to flooding. But one former officer faces federal charges after he was caught in Texas with one of the vehicles.