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New Orleans Officers Out With ‘Blue Flu’

<i> Associated Press</i>

Supervisors and state troopers filled in Wednesday for city police officers who had the “blue flu” in a dispute over collective bargaining and overtime pay.

Police Supt. Arnesta Taylor said half the officers scheduled for the day shift called in sick, although he and police union head Ron Cannatella would not provide a figure.

Taylor said the day shift was actually 25% stronger because of the state police help. The city has 1,500 police officers. No major problems were reported.

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City officials appealed for a quick resolution to the walkout.

“You cannot hold the public hostage to get your point across,” City Councilman Joseph Giarrusso, the acting mayor and a former police chief, said at a news conference.

The union said Mayor Sidney Barthelemy, who is out of the country on vacation, refused to listen to their complaints.

Cannatella, who was among those who called in sick, said that elimination of overtime pay in early June was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

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City budget officials cited police overspending when they eliminated overtime. Union officials said the financially strapped city failed to budget enough money to operate the department.

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