Sworn to Serve

In this special episode, we’re taking you inside a powerful community conversation held at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church — where Sheriff Susan Hutson and members of our leadership team spoke directly with residents about the Safe and Strong Communities Millage Renewal.This millage is not a new tax. It’s a renewal that will appear on the May 3, 2025 ballot as Proposition 1, and it helps fund more than 20% of OPSO’s budget — supporting public safety operations, staffing, emergency response, and rehabilitation programs that make our city stronger and safer.This episode is about transparency, community, and making sure you have the facts before heading to the polls.

The early hours of January 1st, 2025, marked a night of terror on Bourbon Street. A devastating attack left victims injured, bystanders in shock, and first responders in a race against time to restore order and provide aid. In this special episode of Sworn to Serve, we sit down with Detective Charles Morgan, who played a crucial role in rendering aid to victims in the immediate aftermath. We also hear from members of the OPSO Intake and Processing Team who were stationed at the mobile booking bus, processing arrests while the chaos unfolded just blocks away. Through their firsthand accounts, we’ll gain an inside look at the heroic efforts, the emotional toll, and the moments that defined that night. This episode will be raw, emotional, and eye-opening, revealing the unseen sacrifices and split-second decisions that define law enforcement in times of crisis.

Mental health challenges affect every corner of our community, yet resources to address them remain insufficient. Sheriff Susan Hutson believes that by tackling the root causes of criminal behavior—such as untreated trauma, mental health struggles, and cycles of addiction—New Orleans can create a safer, more equitable future for everyone. In this episode of "Sworn to Serve," Sheriff Hutson and Dr. Corey Hebert will dive into the mental health crisis in New Orleans, its connection to crime, and the systemic failures that have left the Orleans Justice Center as the largest mental health provider in the city. Following the tragic terror attack on New Orleans on New Year’s Day, this discussion is more urgent than ever. Sheriff Hutson will share her personal connection to this issue through her brother’s battle with PTSD. Together, our guests will explore solutions that focus on community-centered mental health services, education, and economic opportunities as pathways to reducing crime.

On this episode we are learning more about the school operating inside the Orleans Justice Center that is giving young people hope from behind bars. We hear from Byron Goodwin, Director of the Travis Hill School, who shares about the school’s recent success locally and nationally, their partnership with OPSO and the work their doing in the community. OPSO is the only facility in the US that has a traditional high school.

On this episode OPSO is getting ready to roll for Carnival season. As residents and visitors prepare to hit the parade routes, OPSO is finalizing the second annual Operation Mardi Gras plans to provide security along the routes. We hear from Major Silas Phipps, the Director of OPSO’s Compliance and Accountability Bureau who shares about supporting the agency's road to federal compliance. He also discusses managing the logistics for the large-scale Mardi Gras operation to welcome more than 200 officers and deputies from 18 different agencies to New Orleans to support with parade route security.

On this episode we are taking a look at the OPSO Youth Programming that is touching the lives of children and teens in our city. We hear from Ahmad Vitatoe who was once an OPSO Young Marine and now oversees the program. We also talk to Sgt. Altrice Taylor who leads the D.A.R.E program and is working in five New Orleans schools to teach the curriculum.

On this episode we invite Bruce Reilly the Deputy Director of Voice of the Experienced to share about his work with those in custody and the advocacy work VOTE is doing. We discuss how free phone calls and access to tablets can help curb jail violence and why the sheriff is asking the City Council for a $13-million budget increase.

On this episode, we discuss the mental health needs of the current jail population with outgoing Warden Dr. Astrid Birgden. We learn about the programming being implemented to address the population's needs, discuss the results of a recent consent monitor report, and sheriff explains why she believes compliance can be achieved under her leadership.

On this episode, we discuss the transition year after Sheriff Hutson took office, and she explains why she hired a clinical psychologist as the Warden. We also hear from Dr. Astrid Birgden, who has worked as the warden at the Orleans Justice Center for the past 18 months. We learn about the work done to introduce a new mission and vision and create a model of change that supports deputies and provides humane services for those in custody. Dr. Birgden also answers questions about why OPSO calls people in jail residents.

In this first episode, we give you a look into Sheriff Susan Hutson's journey to becoming the first woman ever elected sheriff in New Orleans and the first black woman to be sheriff in the state of Louisiana. We'll address concerns about the rising jail population and how we're working to tackle this problem with our partners. Then we will talk to Capt. Stephanie Minto with the OPSO Crime Victim Reparations Unit about the agency's efforts to raise awareness about domestic violence in our community and in our homes.