Retiring Officer Suspended for Wearing Wrong Uniform Shirt

Friday 11th of July 2008 07:06:30 AM

Retiring cop Bobby Guidry was stunned to be suspended 15 minutes before he was due to retire. It seems that he was suspended for wearing the wrong uniform shirt.

Sgt Guidry is furious that he has been forced to leave New Orleans Police under a cloud after serving for 35 years. He turned up for work in his old powder-blue shirt that had been a beloved part of his uniform for most of his 35 years on the beat until Hurricane Katrina forced a uniform change. He said he wanted to salute 18 colleagues who died in the line of duty.

Guidry had also worn the light shirt to each of the funerals of fellow officers killed during his career. But his superiors didn't see his uniform choice as a fitting retirement gesture on his last day. New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley said Guidry was reprimanded for violating departmental rules in his final 15 minutes on the job. "He suffered the consequences of his actions," Riley added.

New Orleans police had a light blue shirt and dark pants since the first half of the 20th century. But after Katrina hit in 2005, they were forced to change to a darker shirt, police spokesman Robert Young said Thursday.

"During the storm over 300 uniforms were stolen," Young explained. "The superintendent changed the shirt to a dark colour so someone who had obtained the lighter shirts would not be mistaken for an officer."

The new uniforms, black shirt and pants, were not popular, Young acknowledged. Officers had complained the new uniforms were too hot for the city's steamy climate, wrinkled easily and looked too much like the uniforms worn by security guards.

Now authorities are bringing back the popular, traditional light blue shirt in time for duty during Mardi Gras celebrations next year. Young said that if the retiring officer had sought advance permission to wear the light shirt, the superintendent would have granted it.