NOPD officer robbed in the 9th ward

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NEW ORLEANS -- It's not every day a crime fighter becomes the victim of a violent crime. New Orleans Police officials confirmed one of their officers was robbed at gunpoint in the 1300 block of Feliciana in the Ninth Ward. The robbery happened shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday. Neighbors said the lawman is renovating a house on the block. One man, who didn't want to be identified, talked with the officer about the stick-up. ALSO: Strange twist links to recent, prominent police cases "He just told me that he was in his car,” the man said. “He got off his shift. After his shift, he's sitting in his car, I guess he was waiting for some of his workers or whatever. A guy came up to him and robbed him. He said it was a young guy." According to the NOPD, the officer was off-duty, not in uniform and not driving a department-owned vehicle at the time of the incident. The NOPD's overnight crime report made no mention the victim was a police officer. It only stated that the victim was approached by an armed subject who demanded money and that the victim complied and the suspect left the scene. Neighbor Patrick Chittenden said police were canvassing his neighborhood for the robber. "I was coming down the street and they hit the corner right here and they told me there were some youngsters out here robbing people and whoever they are, they're not good at it because they shake and they're nervous when they're doing it," Chittenden said. Neighbors said there's been an uptick in armed robberies in the area. They added there's been three incidents in recent weeks, two on Feliciana St. and one on Montegut St., a couple streets over. “Anybody could get robbed," one neighbor said. "You, I, me, whoever. Everybody could get it. There's no face, no job that will stop you from getting robbed." Police declined our request to identify the officer who was robbed. An NOPD spokesman said the department doesn't regularly confirm the names of crime victims.

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