'Tried to do something progressive': NOPD removes recruitment ad after it sparks hate speech over homophobic commentary
NEW ORLEANS, LOUSIANA: A $30,000 ad funded by the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation intended for a "more diverse applicant pool" was pulled down after an hour it was posted last month. The ad was created by New Orleans-based director Crista Rock and it includes a range of local characters colorfully dancing along the city's famed streets in a Mardi Gras-style celebration under the caption: 'Everywhere else is Cleveland.'
The ad was posted to the agency’s social media accounts on February 15, 2023, and removed an hour later after sparking an "outpouring of vitriolic, homophobic commentary", according to public information officer Reese Harper. "The video was removed because we did not want anyone to be offended by the negative commentary," Harper said.
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'It didn't look like a typical recruitment ad'
"It didn't look like a typical recruitment ad, director Crista Rock said, and "that was the point." He said, "We tried to do something progressive and awesome to get officers who would embrace our culture."
"The immediate reactions were just hated—horrible, slanderous, makes-your-heart-sink type comments, like, 'The NOPD doesn't hire sissies. Why are these grown men shaking a**?'" she said. "I also personally got a lot of hate messages. "We knew it was going to be something of a lightning rod," Rock said. "I just didn't know it was going to go in that direction," NOLA reported.
"Everywhere else is Cleveland" is a reference to a famous quote from playwright Tennessee Williams in which he said: 'America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.'
According to the outlet, the ad shows 'Mardi Gras Indians', Big Freedia backup dancers, Baby Dolls, Rolling Elvi, and Chewbacchus characters dancing around a Latina NOPD officer in the midst of a celebration.
'Worst move they could ever have made'
"Rather than stand beside their officers who are LGBTQ, the NOPD pulled the ad and ran the other direction, which in my opinion, is the worst move they could ever have made," said Rock about the decision to remove the ad.
At present, there are 922 police officers in the city, and they plan to recruit 68 officers this year and 102 civilians to act in an auxiliary capacity. Despite pulling down the video ad, 23 billboards promoting diversity in recruitment will remain up for view.
New Orleans overtook St. Louis as the US murder capital in the first half of 2022, as the city struggles with its lowest police staffing level in modern history amid a crisis of officer morale as per the Daily Mail. In December, it was reported that the city had allotted $22.5 million for police recruitment in its 2023 budget.