Son of fallen NOPD captain hopes to see Sirgo Plaza moved
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – A tattered American flag flies at half-staff near Sirgo Plaza, which is outside the old NOPD headquarters on South Broad Street in Mid-City.
Sirgo Plaza is a memorial dedicated to NOPD's fallen officers. Among those honored is Captain Thomas Albert, Sr.
His son, Thomas Albert, Jr., visited the memorial a couple of weeks ago while in New Orleans.
'The monuments were all in good shape,' explained Albert. 'The flame, just like I had checked on it right after Katrina, was not burning, and the whole place had feeling of abandonment.'
'A Freedom Fighter': The life and legacy of Oretha Castle Haley
It's a far cry from when a then-teenage Albert, alongside his family, appeared for his father's dedication.
At the time of his death at 48-years-old, Captain Albert worked as commander of the 8th District during the 1979 police strike.
'He wouldn't abandon his post essentially. He was responsible for the 8th District, which was the center of the city,' said Albert. 'He was responsible for police headquarters, as my understanding, the entire core complex there, and it was hard for him because the building was surrounded by his own men and other policemen striking.'
One night, after being on duty for more than 20 hours without relief, Captain Albert suffered a fatal heart attack while at his desk.
Nearly 50 years later, the pain is still there, which is why the Albert family hopes the city and the NOPD will keep their father's memory alive.
<NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirpatrick: 'Absolutely, we're going to honor bringing that memorial to a new location, and so some of the family members, I know, have talked with us, and we want to make it very, very nice, but we're not going to leave the memorial out there,' said NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick when WGNO poised the question during a press conference. 'They're going to come with us. We will always honor our fallen.'
After learning about Kirkpatrick's response and having a conversation with one of the department's leaders, Albert says he has faith that Sirgo Plaza will be moved.
'I would say based on the way the NOPD has treated my mother ever since my dad died and based on my dad's love for the NOPD, I sort of have no doubt that they will do it,' said Albert.
A spokesperson for the department says the plans for the move are still in the works.Mystic Krewe of Music rolls along Jefferson Parish's West Bank
Son of fallen NOPD captain hopes to see Sirgo Plaza moved
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers activates high-water plan as Mississippi River rises
Mylar, confetti cannons banned from New Orleans parade routes
Mass graves case: Police officers last to see disappeared individuals alive
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
20 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Immigration raids are threatening businesses that supply America's food, farm bureaus say
VENTURA, Calif. — Large-scale immigration raids at packinghouses and fields in California are threatening businesses that supply much of the country's food, farm bureaus say. Dozens of farmworkers have been arrested recently after uniformed federal agents fanned out on farms northwest of Los Angeles in Ventura County, which is known for growing strawberries, lemons and avocados. Others are skipping work as fear in immigrant communities has deepened as President Donald Trump steps up his immigration crackdown, vowing to dramatically increase arrests and sending federal agents to detain people at Home Depot parking lots and workplaces including car washes and a garment factory. It also comes as Trump sent National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles following protests over his immigration enforcement operations. Demonstrations have since spread to other U.S. cities. Maureen McGuire, chief executive of Ventura County's farm bureau, said between 25% and 45% of farmworkers have stopped showing up for work since the large-scale raids began this month. 'When our workforce is afraid, fields go unharvested, packinghouses fall behind, and market supply chains, from local grocery stores to national retailers, are affected,' she said in a statement on Thursday. 'This impacts every American who eats.' California's farms produce more than a third of the country's vegetables and more than three-quarters of its fruits and nuts. While the state's government is dominated by Democrats, there are large Republican areas that run through farm country, and many growers throughout the state have been counting on Trump to help with key agricultural issues ranging from water to trade. Primitiva Hernandez, executive director of 805 UndocuFund, estimates at least 43 people were detained in farm fields in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties since Monday. The number is from both the Mexican consulate and the group's own estimates from talking with family members of people detained, she said. Elizabeth Strater, the United Farm Workers' director of strategic campaigns, said her group received reports of immigration arrests on farms as far north as California's Central Valley. Lucas Zucker, co-executive director of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, said farmworker members reported that agents went to at least nine farms but were turned away by supervisors because they lacked a warrant. 'This is just a mass assault on a working-class immigrant community and essentially profiling,' Zucker said. 'They are not going after specific people who are really targeted. They're just fishing.' In response to questions about the farm arrests, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the agency will follow the president's direction and continue to seek to remove immigrants who have committed crimes. On Thursday, Trump acknowledged growers' concerns that his stepped-up immigration enforcement could leave them without workers they rely on to grow the country's food. He said something would be done to address the situation, but he did not provide specifics. 'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,' he said on his social media account, adding: 'We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!' The California Farm Bureau said it has not received reports of a widespread disruption to its workforce, but there are concerns among community members. Bryan Little, the bureau's senior director of policy advocacy, said the group has long pressed for immigration reform to deal with long-running labor shortages. 'We recognize that some workers may feel uncertain right now, and we want to be very clear: California agriculture depends on and values its workforce,' Little said in a statement. 'If federal immigration enforcement activities continue in this direction, it will become increasingly difficult to produce food, process it and get it onto grocery store shelves.' One worker, who asked not to be named out of fear, said he was picking strawberries at a Ventura County farm early Tuesday when more than a dozen cars pulled up to the farm next door. He said they arrested at least three people and put them in vans, while women who worked on the farm burst out crying. He said the supervisors on his farm did not allow the agents inside. 'The first thing that came to my mind is, who will stay with my kids?' the worker, who is originally from Mexico and has lived in the United States for two decades, said in Spanish. 'It's something so sad and unfortunate because we are not criminals.' He said he didn't go to work Wednesday out of fear, and his bosses told him to stay home at least one more day until things settle down. But that means fruit isn't getting picked, and he isn't getting paid. 'These are lost days, days that we're missing work. But what else can we do?' he said. Taxin and Pineda write for the Associated Press.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Gov Newsom ‘handcuffed' police as LA riots expose ‘reactionary' leadership failure: former sheriff' s deputy
As violent protests erupted in Los Angeles, Calif., L.A. County GOP Vice Chair and former L.A. County sheriff's deputy Patrick Gipson issued a scathing rebuke of state and local leadership, accusing officials of negligence and political opportunism. "These riots, they're completely unnecessary," Gipson told Fox News Digital. "We didn't have to go to this length to see cars burning, businesses looted, livelihoods destroyed. It could've all been avoided." Gipson pointed the finger squarely at Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom, blaming him for failing to deploy the National Guard in time to prevent chaos. "Newsom is reactionary instead of pro-action," he said. "If he had called in the National Guard earlier, we would've saved billions of dollars in insurance claims and protected our small businesses." California Candidate For Governor Blasts Newsom While Walking Through La Riot Aftermath The protests, which began as demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), escalated into street violence and theft. The protests highlighted, for many conservatives, the consequences of the state's left-leaning approach to progressive criminal justice reform and immigration. Read On The Fox News App "ICE is here to enforce federal law. And if we can't enforce federal law in this state, what does that say about us?" he asked. Gipson also alleged that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was unable to act independently, suggesting that she has been taking her queues from Newsom. "I know Karen Bass did go in and said, 'this is not the way to protest.' They wanted peaceful protest, but that's not what we had," Gipson said. "She's taking her instructions from Sacramento and Gavin Newsom. If she had better leadership from him, I think we would have been off a lot better that we are now." WATCH: Newsom says people will be prosecuted to fullest extent of law Newsom attempted to cast blame on President Donald Trump for escalating the protests, claiming that they were peaceful demonstrations before the National Guard and his rhetoric accelerated the conflict. "Gavin Newsom does not have a handle on California," he said. "If he had said, '[President] Trump, can you come and help us prepare for this? I think he [Trump] would have helped. "Newsom is obviously setting up for his race in 2028 and he is going to cast the blame on Trump, saying that Trump didn't do his job." Steve Hilton: How One-party Democratic Rule Led To Riots, Burning American Flags And Attacks On Police In La The consequences of what Gipson described as "soft-on-crime" policies are, in his view, compounding the unrest. He cited the state's failure to properly fund Proposition 36, which was overwhelmingly passed in 2024 to curb back the radical policies of Proposition 47, as proof of Sacramento's disregard for public safety. "Gavin Newsom is not funding Prop 36. Store owners can't even go after criminals. Patrons are scared to shop. People won't even get on the freeway toward LA now," Gipson said. "They're afraid a brick's going to come flying through their car window." Reflecting on his experience as a former sheriff's deputy, Gipson said the state of law enforcement morale in L.A. is dire. "Law enforcement has not been able to do their job," he said. "Officers are afraid, literally afraid, to do their jobs because they don't want to go to jail for following their training. There's no backing from Newsom, none from Bass." "They're handcuffed," he added. "For over 10 years, Gavin Newsom has not protected law enforcement in California. They've been defunded, defamed and demoralized. And now they wait. They hesitate. And when you hesitate in this line of work, people get hurt." Gipson also faulted the bureaucratic chain of command for paralyzing law enforcement at critical moments. "The sheriff answers to the Board of Supervisors. The LAPD chief answers to the mayor. And when they can't arrest people right away, the violence just keeps going," he said. The solution, Gipson argued, is straightforward: consequences. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Newsom's office said that the Trump administration "didn't even tap into the additional resources available to clean up their mess." "Let's be clear: The National Guard wasn't needed in Los Angeles. State and local law enforcement were responding, and federal agencies didn't even tap into the additional resources available to clean up their mess. Calls for troops to handle a protest show a basic misunderstanding of how public safety works — which is rather shocking for someone who used to have a badge." Fox News Digital reached out to Bass' office for article source: Gov Newsom 'handcuffed' police as LA riots expose 'reactionary' leadership failure: former sheriff' s deputy
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Marines detain U.S. citizen entering LA federal building amid protests
1 of 3 | U.S. Marines deployed to Los Angeles stopped and detained an American citizen trying to enter a federal building this week, as protests over federal immigration raids in that city (pictured) continue to escalate. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo June 14 (UPI) -- U.S. Marines deployed to Los Angeles to help temper unrest in that city, stopped and detained an American citizen trying to enter a federal building. The man was trying to enter a Veterans Affairs office inside the Wilshire Federal Building in the city's Sawtelle neighborhood when he was stopped earlier this week by Marines sent to protect the property amid protests over immigration raids. This marks the first time during the current unrest that military troops have detained a U.S citizen. The 27-year-old U.S. Army veteran was released after a short time. "They treated me very fairly," Marcos Leao told the New York Times following the incident, adding headphones at first prohibited him from hearing the Marines giving him verbal commands to stop. U.S. Northern Command confirmed to The Hill, the Marines "temporarily detained a civilian earlier today" under Title 10 of the United States Code governing detention by the armed forces. Around 200 Marines moved into Los Angeles on Friday, joining thousands of California National Guard troops to help protect federal assets and agents sent to the city to carry out arrests on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. President Donald Trump sent around 700 Marines to the area Monday, but they have thus far been staged outside the city. Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., has opposed the move. On Friday, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., sent a written letter to Trump, signed by all U.S. Senate Democrats demanding the president remove military troops from Los Angeles. A U.S. District Court Judge in San Francisco on Thursday ruled the president's National Guard troop deployment was illegal. An appeals court later reversed that decision. Los Angeles officials on Tuesday instituted a local curfew in parts of the city, following over 100 arrests that day amid protesters clashing with police. On Saturday, millions of people are expected to take part in at least 1,500 protests across the United States. The "No Kings" demonstrations are scheduled to coincide with a major Flag Day military parade in Washington, D.C. and Trump's 70th birthday. The movement describes itself as "rejecting authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy."
