Community outraged as police officer gets addicted on duty because he was “falling behind and thought the meth would help”

Rob Krieger’s FOX 8 “Addicted on Duty” report opens with a timestamp that feels like it should be impossible.

4:34 a.m., December 5, 2023, near the edge of Orleans Parish, Krieger reports that NOPD Officer Maurice Bailey pulled his marked unit into a gas station in Irish Bay and walked inside like it was any other stop.

Krieger says Bailey wasn’t there for coffee or a bathroom break. He asked the clerk for one specific thing: a torch lighter.

The moment is small, almost boring, until you realize what comes next.

Krieger’s story doesn’t lean on rumor or “sources say” for the big claim. The core evidence, Krieger reports, is Bailey’s own body-worn camera, obtained by FOX 8 through a public records request.

And that’s why the outrage lands the way it does. This wasn’t a hidden scandal uncovered years later. Krieger shows it happened in the open, on duty, and on camera.

The Bodycam Video That Set Off The Alarm

Krieger narrates Bailey leaving the counter with a green torch lighter, then moving his unit to the edge of the property facing Highway 11.

Within minutes, Krieger reports, Bailey pulled out a plastic bag that appeared to contain a white substance.

Then a call came over the radio: a residential burglar alarm.

Krieger says Bailey didn’t respond to dispatchers. Instead, he drove off—and the bodycam captured what happened next while he was in motion.

The video, as Krieger describes it, shows that torch lighter heating a white substance into a milky cloud inside a clear glass pipe, while Bailey drove his city vehicle.

That detail matters because it’s not just a “bad decision.” It’s an on-duty officer, operating a vehicle, impaired or becoming impaired, while still responsible for the public.

Krieger includes on-the-street reactions in the report—voices hearing what they’re watching and struggling to process it. “That looks like meth,” one person says, and another responds with disbelief that it’s a police officer doing it.

That’s the gut-level reaction a lot of people have: this isn’t a private meltdown. It’s a uniformed role with power, weapons, and authority.

Krieger reports the footage was caught because an NOPD sergeant, doing a random review of bodycam video from the Seventh District, spotted it.

That random review triggered an immediate drug screen.

And Krieger says the drug screen came back positive for methamphetamine.

“It’s Pretty Damning” And The Officer’s Own Admission

Krieger then brings in Skip Gallagher, described as a forensic scientist and an NOPD watchdog who reviewed the Public Integrity Bureau case.

Gallagher’s reaction in Krieger’s report is blunt: the officer recorded himself on his own body camera, and that part is disturbing.

Gallagher also says that when you see the video, it’s “pretty damning,” and that words almost fail to describe it.

Krieger doesn’t stop at the video, either. He reports that internal NOPD documents include Bailey admitting guilt in plain language.

Bailey told investigators, in Krieger’s telling, that he couldn’t recall the date, but that he was “guilty,” and that it wasn’t “alleged.” Bailey said he was an addict dealing with an addiction.

That admission cuts two ways.

On one side, it sounds like a person confessing and asking to be seen as human. On the other side, it’s an officer confessing to behavior that could have put citizens—and fellow officers—in danger.

Krieger notes FOX 8 first met Bailey in 2022 at his NOPD graduation ceremony, which makes the timeline even more startling. This wasn’t a veteran near retirement quietly unraveling. This was a relatively new officer spiraling fast.

Why Wasn’t He Fired And Why Did He Get Paid?

This is where Krieger’s report shifts from “shocking video” to “system-level controversy.”

Krieger says that even with video evidence and a positive test, the NOPD did not fire Bailey immediately.

Instead, Krieger reports Bailey was administratively reassigned in December 2023.

Records, Krieger says, show Bailey was on leave without pay for seven full pay periods, but still collected nearly $13,000 in sick pay, holiday leave, and benefits.

Krieger highlights one detail that sticks in people’s throats: a $5,000 retention bonus, which the NOPD said is paid automatically to eligible city employees.

To regular people, that sounds like the kind of thing you earn by sticking around and doing solid work – not by getting caught smoking meth on patrol.

Krieger then turns to Raphael Goyeneche of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, who says the department should have moved swiftly.

Goyeneche tells Krieger the video alone justifies termination, and that you can’t allow an officer to do what was shown and remain on the force.

And honestly, it’s hard to argue with the basic logic. A badge and a gun require trust. Meth and impairment destroy it.

Krieger later reports that an NOPD Public Integrity Bureau finding – written by Sergeant Mary Sam – confirmed Bailey admitted to using meth while working and while operating a city vehicle, describing it as a public safety hazard.

But Krieger points out a line that feels almost surreal: the investigation concluded no tactical policy, education, or training recommendations were needed.

That’s the kind of conclusion that makes people feel like the paperwork is living in a different universe than reality.

The Return To Duty, The Second Positive Test, And The Resignation

Krieger reports that after nearly five months, the allegations were confirmed in April 2024, and NOPD leadership signed off by the end of that month.

Then, in May, Krieger says Bailey was back on the clock in an administrative role, earning pay again only months after admitting to smoking meth on duty.

Goyeneche tells Krieger that letting Bailey keep his badge was a mistake because he’s carrying a firearm, and impairment doesn’t just risk the public – it risks other officers who might rely on him in a crisis.

That point deserves more attention than it usually gets. Policing is teamwork under pressure. If one person’s judgment is compromised, it’s not a solo problem.

Krieger reports that within weeks of returning, Bailey went “no call, no show,” and an internal disciplinary investigation linked his actions to stress. He received a letter of reprimand.

Then came the second positive test.

Krieger says in June 2024, Bailey tested positive for meth again. A sergeant recorded Bailey describing it as a relapse or slip-up from Tuesday, May 28, and Bailey said embarrassment made it hard to go to work.

Krieger reports that shortly after the Public Integrity Bureau began investigating that second positive test, Bailey resigned before the investigation could conclude.

In his resignation letter to Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, Krieger says Bailey wrote that he would move on, find what he’s good at, and get help.

Gallagher tells Krieger it would have been better to remove Bailey sooner, calling it a clear-cut case where resignation replaced termination.

And that matters, because resignation can feel like an escape hatch. It lets the department say “he’s gone,” while the public still wonders why he ever came back.

The “Falling Behind” Explanation And The Policy Fight Afterward

One of the most unsettling parts of Krieger’s report is Bailey’s own explanation for how it started.

Krieger says Bailey told superiors the bodycam incident wasn’t the only time he smoked meth on duty.

Bailey also claimed he began using meth after a “Signal 108” – an officer-in-need-of-assistance, life-in-danger call – back in September 2023.

Krieger reports Bailey said reports backed up, he was falling behind, and he thought meth would help him keep up.

That explanation is terrifying, not because it’s rare, but because it sounds like the logic of desperation.

If an officer believes stimulants are a tool for job performance, then the job isn’t just stressing the person – it’s warping their sense of what’s acceptable.

Krieger says the NOPD issued a statement insisting it followed required procedures under civil service rules, while the Civil Service Department told FOX 8 that its rules allow emergency suspensions.

Krieger reports the Civil Service Commission said it had no involvement in Bailey’s case.

Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, in Krieger’s report, defends her decision by saying an emergency suspension would have been with pay, and she preferred to keep Bailey working in a role without police powers rather than paying him to sit at home.

Kirkpatrick’s line to Krieger is basically: she’s not going to pay someone to “go to the gym” and nap during an investigation. She’d rather “work you,” just without police powers.

That’s a practical argument. It’s also one that makes people shudder, because it raises a simple question Krieger asks out loud: what about the person giving a report over the phone to an officer who might be high?

Kirkpatrick agrees with Krieger that it’s a real concern – an absolute concern.

Then Krieger reports the real pivot: after FOX 8 pressed on why Bailey returned to work, Kirkpatrick says she changed department protocol.

Kirkpatrick told Krieger that after talks with attorneys and civil service, she believes she can hold an initial due process hearing within days in egregious cases and suspend officers without pay more swiftly, instead of waiting out a long investigation.

That might be the most important part of Krieger’s entire report.

Because the public outrage here isn’t only about one officer’s addiction. It’s about a system that looked at bodycam footage of meth use on patrol and still found a way to keep the person employed for months.

A department can talk about wellness, support, and rehabilitation—and those things matter. But Krieger’s reporting shows why people get furious: the moment drugs, guns, and public authority mix, the margin for “let’s see how this plays out” basically disappears.

And if a policy change only happens after public pressure, that’s not reassurance. That’s an alarm bell.