1 day Ago By By Chloe Williams Staff Writer
Hammond Police Chief Edwin Bergeron introduced a new task force, Internet Crimes Against Children, when he spoke to Hammond Kiwanis Club Tuesday. ICAC will focus on fighting against internet child exploitation in Tangipahoa Parish. It began as a federal task force, and as of Tuesday morning, Hammond police officers have taken up the mission as well.
“Tangipahoa Parish had 187 reported crimes this year against children on the internet. It’s believed it will finish out to what it did last year which was around 245 to 250,” Bergeron said. “We have a problem in this country with children being victimized.
We have a problem with children being exploited. This is going to be our effort and attempt to stop this in Tangipahoa Parish.” Bergeron said officers will be proactive in investigations and are going to be supported with staff and training from the attorney general’s office.
Another team the police chief gave notice to was the fentanyl overdose response team. In August, HPD arrested and charged a seller with second-degree murder in a fentanyl-related overdose. Bergeron said District Attorney Scott Perrilloux is fully on board with the prosecution.
Bergeron emphasized the seriousness of fentanyl-related crime in Tangipahoa by showing a slideshow of how sellers are combining the narcotic with other drugs such as cocaine and crystal meth. Bergeron said that what the Kiwanis Club members were seeing in the pictures was enough to kill 25,000 people. “We have to be continually proactive and push to fight against this problem,” Bergeron said.
The task force has and will continue to respond to every overdose in Hammond if fentanyl is believed to be involved which, according to the police chief, is 90 percent of the time. Bergeron also discussed the department’s official introduction of school resource officers. Last year they tested it with a couple schools, and now there will be four school resource officers to cover all schools within the City of Hammond.
On the topic of schools, the police chief also talked about a recent school threat on social media where every school in the parish was threatened. Bergeron explained, “When stuff like that happens we have to go to every school and have to prepare as if something may happen, even though it may not. One of the things we’re working toward is that if someone does make a threat or does something against the schools, not only will we go after them on a criminal matter, we plan to also go after them on a financial matter.
” He added that threats to schools cost the department money in terms of resources, which is why they are considering that course of action. One Kiwanian asked the chief to comment on Proposition One on the city’s ballot in the Nov. 5 election.
Proposition One would change the city charter to allow Hammond City Council to fire the police chief at will in any regular or special meeting. “I’m not going to tell y’all how to vote. What I will tell y’all is when you’re going to vote and see Proposition One is to think about the long-term Hammond Police Department,” Bergeron said.
Bergeron also mentioned that police presence can be expected at future events such as downtown trick-or-treating on Oct. 23, Starry November Night on Nov. 23 and the Hammond Christmas parade.
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