NOPD Officer Arrested on Multiple Counts of Payroll Fraud Louisiana State Police arrested Senior Police Officer Brandon Coleman on Thursday after months of investigations into alleged payroll fraud at the New Orleans Police Department. The arrest followed a series of undercover investigations by Fox 8, which exposed widespread overtime abuses within the department. Coleman, who was placed on emergency unpaid suspension by NOPD on Wednesday, faces multiple charges related to fraudulent overtime payments. The investigation began in late 2024 when Fox 8’s Unchecked Overtime series uncovered Coleman’s misconduct. Surveillance footage revealed the officer clocking in for overtime hours while at home, even after discovering the network’s cameras outside his residence. NOPD timesheet records confirmed Coleman’s continued falsification of work hours, with investigators later determining that as much as $111,000 of his reported overtime pay was fraudulent. Coleman’s total earnings for the period under scrutiny reached $229,000, more than three times his base salary of $68,000. Louisiana State Police detectives, joined by the New Orleans Office of Inspector General, launched a joint investigation in April 2026. Their findings aligned with Fox 8’s reports, identifying discrepancies between Coleman’s reported work locations and his actual movements during claimed overtime periods. The investigation also uncovered false public records submitted to justify the fraudulent payments, which spanned from December 2024 to December 2025. NOPD watchdog Skip Gallagher, who has reviewed police payroll records for years, described the investigation as a turning point. Gallagher had previously filed multiple complaints about timekeeping issues but found little action from internal authorities.#new_orleans #nopd #brandon_coleman #fox_8 #louisiana_state_police
