The chase through the city center ends in an accident. State police say they are making additional arrests

NEW ORLEANS — Neighbors in the Mid-City area say they welcome the additional protection and presence of the Louisiana State Police in their area.

Friday evening, Troop NOLA chased a black Infinity that fled the scene of a traffic stop around Esplanade and Miro.

The Infinity crashed into a white Lexus, causing it to overturn. This driver suffered minor injuries.

Officers arrested Harold Jerome and David Hall, both 20, after they jumped out of the car and tried to escape.

The police say they both had weapons.

State Police say they are making many more arrests since adding troopers already assigned to the NOLA force.

“Since early September, we have had additional troopers, approximately 30 to 40 additional troopers from across the state, here to support the permanently deployed NOLA troopers,” said Sgt. Kate Stegall, public affairs officer for the Louisiana State Police. “It was very effective. We had a significant number of arrests.”

“I think it’s great,” Mid-City resident Keely Peters-Mack said. “All these car thefts and robberies are terrible, and there's a lot of older people. “They're robbing a lot of older people and stuff, and I think it's really great that they're going out on patrol and getting into more crime.”

The additional State Police policing effort, which began earlier this month, is a proactive program called Operation Strike and is taking place throughout Orleans Parish.

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