A New Orleans police detective is being investigated after he allegedly wrote a message in a murder victim's blood.
New Orleans police confirmed that homicide detective Charles Hoffacker was placed on desk duty last Wednesday after he allegedly doodled with a victim's blood once it had coagulated on the street at a crime scene.
A complaint states that he tampered with the scene, although, according to WWL-TV, his attorney said the case has been blown out of proportion:
He said the crime scene was never compromised, and the victim had long been removed from the scene when the alleged tampering took place. He conceded that Hoffacker may have used poor judgment, but said the detective never intended any harm and did not violate any departmental rules.
Hoffacker is also an artist. According to his website, he "[uses] art to bring the violence I experience on a daily basis to the forefront of the more cultivated art world."
But as WWL-TV reports, his past projects didn't allegedly involve potential evidence from a crime scene.
The attorney said his client was stressed after working two double shifts over Memorial Day weekend. Hoffacker was the lead detective on at least one murder case that weekend, in which a 15-year-old died in a shooting at a graduation party. It is not clear if that was the scene where he allegedly wrote the message in blood.
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