A high-ranking New Orleans police captain has been suspended for one day without pay after leaving her department-issued Glock in an unmarked vehicle outside her home, where it was stolen overnight. Capt. Gwen Nolan, who commands the NOPD's recruitment team, told investigators the SUV was locked, secured and intact when she left the weapon inside on the night of June 17. The gun has not been recovered as of August 12, according to NOPD.
According to WVUE, Nolan discovered the theft the next morning when she found the SUV's doors unlocked, the glove box open and the vehicle rummaged through. She reported the gun missing, and NOPD later confirmed the one-day suspension. Nolan's attorney declined to comment on the case, per the same report.
A Policy Violation the Department Called a Mistake
NOPD policy requires officers to remove firearms from unattended vehicles and either lock them in the trunk or store them inside their homes. The department has said Nolan violated that policy by leaving her service weapon in her vehicle, and NOPD has stated it takes firearm security seriously and expects officers to properly secure their weapons at all times, the station's report notes.
Metropolitan Crime Commission president Rafael Goyeneche said the department apparently determined the incident was a mistake rather than an intentional policy violation, according to the same account. Goyeneche added that this was not the first stolen NOPD weapon and will not be the last.
A Recurring Problem With Deadly Stakes
NOPD records show 15 stolen service guns since 2020, and at least one of those weapons was allegedly used in a robbery that turned into a fatal shooting, per NOPD records cited by the station. That case echoes an April 2025 incident in which NOPD confirmed an officer received a two-day suspension after a service weapon stolen from their possession was later used in a fatal armed robbery, according to WVUE.
Guns stolen from vehicles are not a new problem in New Orleans. NOPD crime data released in July showed 300 firearms were stolen from vehicles citywide in 2024, with another 150 taken in just the first half of this year, according to a report from the department. That marks a slight decline from 2022, when the Lakeview Crime Prevention District found 678 firearms were stolen from vehicles in a single year, accounting for 72% of all guns reported stolen citywide at the time.
What the Law Says About Guns in Cars
State law generally permits residents to store legally possessed firearms in locked, privately owned vehicles parked in accessible public or employee lots, under Louisiana Revised Statute § 32:292.1. But NOPD holds its own officers to a stricter internal standard, given the added danger when a taxpayer-funded service weapon ends up on the street. After Louisiana's permitless concealed carry law took effect in June 2024, NOPD command staff publicly urged gun owners to use locked safe boxes in their vehicles, warning that unattended cars in public areas are prime targets for thieves, according to WWL-TV.
This is not the first time a New Orleans officer's take-home vehicle has become a target. In August 2016, an off-duty NOPD officer's parked car was stolen from outside his Fourth District residence with his department-issued Glock, TASER and official credentials inside, prompting a public safety alert before the vehicle was recovered without the weapons, WWL-TV reported at the time.
A Veteran Leader During a Recruitment Push
Nolan is a 25-year veteran of the department who was named head of the NOPD Recruitment and Applicant Investigation Division in 2025, leading marketing efforts alongside a private agency as officer counts hovered around 900, according to Police1. She was previously named a City of New Orleans Employee of the Quarter for creating the NOPD Officer's Career and Personal Development Guidebook, which the police academy adopted into its curriculum in 2023.
Her suspension comes as NOPD continues to grapple with internal discipline questions more broadly; Hoodline recently reported on 325 fraud counts tied to an overtime scandal within the department. For now, Nolan's stolen Glock remains missing, and NOPD has not indicated whether the one-day suspension will be the final word on the matter.
