A New Orleans police sergeant has been terminated after an internal investigation concluded he falsified overtime and activity reports, claiming more than 4,500 hours and collecting over $282,000 in 2025.
The New Orleans Police Department's Public Integrity Bureau reviewed trip sheets, vehicle camera metadata, radio logs and equipment records and found multiple inconsistencies between Sgt. Henry Burke's reported locations and department data. Surveillance footage and dash-camera metadata placed Burke at his home and at other locations at times when his timesheets indicated he was on duty.
Key Findings of the Investigation
Investigators say Burke reported at least 4,529 work hours in 2025 — an average exceeding 12 hours per calendar day without accounting for vacations or days off — and that his roughly $87,000 base salary rose to more than $282,200 because of overtime and other pay. Records show he received nearly $245,903 in 2024, including more than $121,000 in overtime, and his total compensation from 2022 through 2025 approached $750,000.
FOX 8 placed cameras outside Burke's home on seven days in July and September 2025; on four of those days the footage showed him at home while his timesheets listed him as working. Investigators highlighted specific discrepancies on July 13 and July 15, 2025, when timestamps, dash-camera metadata and radio records conflicted with his reported activity.
Previous Scrutiny and Criminal Proceedings
A police watchdog, Skip Gallagher, filed a complaint in 2023 that led to an internal review finding at least 489 overtime violations; Burke was then given a letter of reprimand. In February 2026 NOPD arrested Burke on four counts of public payroll fraud and six counts of injuring public records, and he was placed on unpaid emergency suspension. The Orleans Parish District Attorney later declined all 10 felony counts on July 1, 2026; NOPD said the matter was referred to another jurisdiction but did not identify it.
Administrative Action and System Reforms
Burke received his termination letter on July 23, 2026, after the department sustained multiple payroll violations and inaccurate reporting. The New Orleans Office of Inspector General concluded that the city and NOPD had insufficient budgeting and oversight of police overtime, increasing the risk of payroll fraud, waste and abuse. In response, NOPD tightened payroll procedures, added overtime-approval safeguards, strengthened timekeeping verification and expanded audits. The Inspector General reported that police overtime spending fell by roughly $8.3 million in 2026 following those changes.
Three other officers remain under internal review as part of a broader examination of NOPD timekeeping practices.
How to Report Suspected Fraud
New Orleans residents, city employees and contractors can report suspected fraud, waste or abuse of city funds to the New Orleans Office of Inspector General via its online form, by email at [email protected] or by phone at 504-681-3247. Complainants may request confidentiality.
