A member of the Housing Authority of New Orleans Police Department was found dead after being fatally wounded inside his cruiser Sunday morning.
Officer James Bennett Jr. was discovered in the vehicle -- that was still moving during the incident -- after it struck a curb at the intersection of Erato and Freret streets in the Central City neighborhood shortly after 7 a.m., officials said.
"This truly is a sad day for our department. It's such a tragic loss. We've never had an on-duty death in our department's history," HANO Police Chief Robert Anderson told reporters. "This was a young officer that was taken away from us too soon."
The police officer was working a patrol assignment on an overtime basis to secure a construction site when the incident occurred.
The incident is under investigation and police are currently searching for the person or persons responsible for the officer's death.
"NOPD and HANO will work very closely to identify and arrest those responsible for this heinous assault," Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a statement. "The death of this HANO police officer is an unspeakable tragedy, and a vile and cowardly act. Tragedies that involve our men and women in uniform affect our entire city and touch every member of our law enforcement community.
The New Orleans Police Department and the city will provide services for counseling of the members of the HANO Police Department and will have grief psychologists and chaplains assist.
"We work side-by-side with the housing authority every day throughout the city of New Orleans," New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison told reporters. "Our condolences, our prayers, our thoughts are with Chief Anderson, with his officers, with his department . . . It's a very tough thing to watch one of your colleagues lose their life in the line of duty."
Bennett previously worked with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office for six years as a member of the JPSO Reserve Division from April 2000 to March 2006 before going full-time in JPSO's Second District Patrol Division before returning back into the Reserve Division in October 2006. He then left the Reserve Division in May 2013 to go full-time with HANO.
Officer.com will provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
