AT 10:00. AND FIRST AT TEN. THE ORLEANS PARISH COMMUNICATION DISTRICT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TYRRELL MORRIS ABRUPTLY STEPPED DOWN TODAY. WELL, THIS COMES MONTHS BEFORE HIS PLANNED SEPTEMBER RESIGNATION DATE. AND JUST A DAY BEFORE THE BOARD WAS SET TO VOTE ON THE FUTURE OF HIS JOB. WDSU INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER CASSIE SCHERM HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS SITUATION FOR MONTHS. KASEY LIVE WITH WHY MORRIS IS STEPPING DOWN SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. THAT’S RIGHT. SO WE RECEIVED CONFIRMATION EARLIER TODAY, EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON AFTER SOURCES TOLD US TERELLE MORRIS WOULD RESIGN BY THE END OF THE DAY, MONTHS EARLIER THAN INITIALLY PLANNED. IN A STATEMENT FROM THE BOARD CHAIR. IT’S BECAUSE OF OVERWHELMING MEDIA ATTENTION. THE ANNOUNCEMENT COMES ON THE DAY BEFORE OPCD BOARD DECIDED MORRIS’S FATE. THE BOARD THAT OVERSEES THE 911 CALL CENTER WAS SET TO MEET TUESDAY WITH MORRIS’S FUTURE AS DIRECTOR AS THE MAIN ITEM ON THE EMERGENCY AGENDA. OPCD BOARD CHAIR JOHN THOMAS MONDAY AFTERNOON SENT OUT THIS STATEMENT CONFIRMING MORRIS’S RESIGNATION, STATING IT’S DUE TO RECENT NEWS STORIES SAYING, QUOTE, DIRECTOR MORRIS EXPRESSED THAT HE FELT THE RECENT OVERWHELM LULING MEDIA ATTENTION WAS BEGINNING TO DISTRACT FROM THE HEROIC WORK THE TEAM AT THE ORLEANS PARISH COMMUNICATIONS DISTRICT DOES EACH AND EVERY DAY TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF BOTH OUR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS, AND FELT IT WAS BEST TO STEP AWAY TO PROTECT THE MISSION AND INTEGRITY OF THE ORGANIZATION. I THINK HE SAW HIS TIME WAS LIMITED, LONGEST SERVING OPCD BOARD MEMBER BROBSON LAFITTE SAYS IT WAS BEST FOR THE DEPARTMENT, EVEN IF HE’S EXONERATED OF EVERY POSSIBLE CHARGE. THE FACT THAT THE THE THE CREDIBILITY OF THE AGENCY AND AND THE DISGRACE THAT HE’S BROUGHT TO HIS REASON TO GET RID OF IT. IN A MEETING LAST THURSDAY THAT INCLUDED A TWO HOUR EXECUTIVE SESSION, THE BOARD HEARD DETAILS, INCLUDING KEY FACTS UNCOVERED BY WDSU ABOUT ALTERED DOC COMMENTS FOLLOWING A MAY 7TH ACCIDENT. HE WAS INVOLVED IN WHILE DRIVING A DEPARTMENT VEHICLE. ALL HE DID WAS WAS WAS SHOW US UBER THE PIECE YOU DID AND ZERO AKERS FOR AGES SHOWED US THE NEWS THING. I MEAN, EVERYBODY HAD SEEN ALL OF THAT WDSU DOCUMENTS GIVEN TO WDSU BY OPCD THAT WERE ALTERED, MAKING IT SEEM MORRIS DIDN’T HAVE TO TAKE A BLOOD TEST FOR POSSIBLE DRUGS AND ALCOHOL FOLLOWING THE CRASH. 17 MINUTES AFTER I REACHED OUT TO MORRIS ABOUT THAT CRASH, THAT POLICY WAS CHANGED TO ONLY IF INJURIES OCCUR. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS HELENA MORENO AND J. P MORIAL ASKED THAT MORRIS BE AT LEAST SUSPENDED PENDING AN INVESTIGATION. BUT MAYOR CANTRELL RESISTED, SAYING THERE WERE ONLY ALLEGATIONS NOW THAT MORRIS IS STEPPING DOWN, LUTZ SAYS IT’S UP TO THE MAYOR’S OFFICE AND THE BOARD TO LOOK FOR SOMEONE TO STEP IN HIS SHOES. IT’S MY HOPE THAT THAT ON AN INTERIM BASIS, WE GET SOMEBODY THAT’S WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION OR HAS BEEN IN THE ORGANIZATION AND THEN AS FAR AS A PERMANENT DIRECTOR, THAT WE GET SOMEBODY WHO WILL WHO KNOWS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION, WHO KNOWS? 911 MORENO URGES THE CITY TO MOVE QUICKLY TO FIND A NEW DIRECTOR AND SAYS THERE COULD BE POSSIBLE COUNCIL OVERSIGHT IN THE FUTURE. SHE SAYS SHE’S DISAPPOINTED THAT THE BOARD NEVER HELD MORE ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY OF HIS ACTIONS. NOW, MORRIS’S RESIGNATION COMES AS SOURCES TELL US THE AG’S OFFICE CONFISCATED OPCD COMPUTERS AND PHONES AS WELL AS STARTED INTERVIEWS. THE HOME RULE CHARTER FOR THE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL STATES IT MAY ADMINISTER OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS, SUBPOENA WITNESSES, COMPEL THEIR ATTENDANCE AND TESTIMONY UNDER OATH. THAT MEANS THE OIG HAS THE POWER TO COMPEL AN OPCD DIRECTOR TO AN INTERVIEW STATING, QUOTE, ANY APPOINTED OFFICER OF THE CITY WHO VIOLATES ANY PROVISION OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE SUBJECT TO DISCHARGE OR SUCH OTHER DISCIPLINE. BUT NOW THAT MORRIS IS NO LONGER AN EMPLOYEE AT OPCD, HE DOESN’T FALL UNDER THE SECTION TO BE COMPELLED FOR AN INTERVIEW. WOW. BIG DEVELOPMENT TODAY. SO, CASSIE, TELL US WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. SO TOMORROW THEY’RE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING WHO’S GOING TO FILL THOSE SHOES. SO SOMEONE IS AN INTERIM RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THEY HAVEN’T REALLY HAD THE TIME TO LOOK SOMEONE FOR THAT PERMANENT POSITION. AND I’M BEING TOLD THAT THE MAYOR’S OFFICE IS GOING TO BE THERE AS WELL. OKAY. SO THERE IS A NAME KIND OF BEING THROWN AROUND AS SOMEONE IN THAT DEPARTMENT ALREADY. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US? YEAH. SO I WAS TOLD BY SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS THAT HE IS A IT DIRECTOR THERE ALREADY AT OPCD. HE KNOWS ALL OF THE INNER WORKINGS. IT WOULD BE A GOOD PERSON THAT COULD STEP IN. AND ONE OF THE SOURCES TELLS ME HE DOESN’T MIND BEING AN INTERIM RIGHT NOW, BUT HE DOESN’T WANT IT AS A PERMANENT. SO IT COULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT GOES FORWARD. BUT IT’S GOING TO BE UP TO THE MAYOR’S OFFICE AS WELL AS THE BOARD. SO THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER O