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New Iberia council weighs enforcement as residents, police cite fireworks and gunfire spikes
Summary
Residents told the New Iberia City Council fireworks in the city are masking gunfire and contributing to public safety worries. Police laid out call-volume data and said they plan extra dispatch and patrol staffing, new tracking for fireworks complaints and push notifications through the city app; no ordinance change was voted on.
A string of public complaints and a city review of emergency calls pushed fireworks and public-safety concerns to the center of the New Iberia City Council meeting on Jan. 21, 2025.
The council discussed resident pleas for stricter enforcement after a public commenter described repeated fireworks in December and New Year’s Eve that she said “were like bombs” and argued the sounds were masking gunfire. The commenter said the neighborhood has seen shootings and a bullet through a bedroom window, adding, “Crime has risen because the small crimes have been swept under the rug for many years.”
Police officials told the council their response capacity and priorities shape how fireworks complaints get handled. “On the New Year’s Eve night…we took 28 firework complaints,” the Police Chief said, and added that during the same period department call volume totaled 134. He also reported that officers logged “13 shots fired” calls that night and that the department made arrests tied…
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