Additional tactical teams, police in New Orleans for Mardi Gras

Yahoo

28-02-2025

When people visit New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year, there will be additional tactical teams and overall a larger police presence than in years past, according to the lead federal coordinator for Mardi Gras.
After the terrorist attack in New Orleans on Jan. 1 that killed 14 on Bourbon Street, then-President Joe Biden granted the city's request to give Mardi Gras the top "Special Event Assessment Rating," or SEAR 1. That designation comes with an enhanced federal presence.
New Orleans is no stranger to a SEAR 1 event. Eric DeLaune, the lead federal coordinator for Mardi Gras and the special agent in charge of the New Orleans Field Office, served as federal coordinator for the Super Bowl in New Orleans earlier this month.
"With Super Bowl, we had a downtown area, the French Quarter, Marigny and the Warehouse District of the city. And with Mardi Gras, we're talking about events that are going on throughout the city and parades that traverse routes that are as long as six miles in some cases, and there are approximately 32 of them that roll during that 12-day period," he said, noting that compared to the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras is a bigger footprint to secure.
MORE: As New Orleans' Mardi Gras goes into full swing, security boosted to historic levels
DeLaune said everyone worked together to come up with a "logical" and "effective" security plan.
"That enhanced security zone that was put in place by the city and the state [for the Super Bowl] still exists," DeLaune told ABC News on Thursday. "It's going to continue to exist through the Mardi Gras Carnival season. But for the parade routes, the city and the state worked together to put up barriers and barricades that would provide safe standing areas for people along the parade route, and we have additional law enforcement resources that have been placed along the route."
He said extra police from surrounding parishes were brought in to help with the security as well.
"They'll see those BearCat armored vehicles. They'll see uniformed tactical officers walking around on the backside of the parade route in case they're needed in the city," he explained.
During the Super Bowl week, members of the National Guard checked people's bags going into the French Quarter -- something that will continue for Mardi Gras, he said.
MORE: A month after terror attack, officials say Super Bowl has 'no credible threats'
"Conditions of entry into the Bourbon Street area to the French Quarter area will exist during Mardi Gras," he said. "On parade routes, people might encounter law enforcement officers are asking to take a look in their ice chest or in their bags."
DeLaune said the Coast Guard will be manning the Mississippi River and using air assets and that there will also be drones monitoring crowds for any nefarious activity.
"Outside of that uniformed law enforcement presence ... there will be a lot of law enforcement officers who are in plainclothes that may not be readily distinguishable as law enforcement," he said. "We working with the city -- the city put together a really good plan, a very sound security plan, for those parade routes."
For DeLaune, securing Mardi Gras is personal.
"I am a Louisiana native. I grew up and experienced Mardi Gras and Carnival throughout my life -- you could even say it's part of my DNA," he said. "I really have an appreciation for the cultural and historical context of Mardi Gras here in Louisiana. And so, we worked really hard with the city and the state to make sure that we could provide additional security assets for the city for Mardi Gras without changing how it looks and how it feels for the people who come here to celebrate it."
Additional tactical teams, police in New Orleans for Mardi Gras originally appeared on abcnews.go.com