BATON ROUGE – State Police announced sweeping new policies, procedures and staff reassignments following a report by New Orleans' WWL TV and The Advocate newspaper.

The Advocate has a print edition in the Crescent City where it's also partnered with WWL; WWL and WBRZ have a news partnership, too.

Reports highlighted a trip to a law enforcement conference in San Diego included a lengthy road trip that had stops at the Grand Canyon and a Las Vegas resort and casino. The drive cost the state agency thousands of dollars in overtime.

Monday, State Police announced details of an internal investigation to “determine any violations of departmental policy and procedures.” In addition, at least one person who was part of the road trip was reassigned pending the administrative review. Also, State Police told WBRZ in an email related to questions about the reports Sunday, departments are taking steps to recoup the overtime and reclassify earned time, collect the hotel fees and per diem paid to those who visited Las Vegas and changing policies related to overtime collected while attending conferences.

“All employees of the Department of Public Safety, including myself, are responsible and accountable for their actions.  The public can rest assured that I am making necessary changes and providing clear direction to those under my command,” Col. Mike Edmonson, the State Police superintendent, said in a statement provided to WBRZ.

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