A New Orleans Police Department patrol officer turned himself in Saturday morning after deputies say he pulled his department-issued firearm on his roommate during an argument at his Slidell home earlier this month. Derrick Burmaster, 47, was booked at the St. Tammany Parish Correctional Center on one count of aggravated assault with a firearm.
The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office obtained the arrest warrant after its Persons Crimes Unit investigated the Oct. 2 confrontation, according to WGNO. The station reported that Burmaster pulled out his NOPD-issued firearm during the argument at his Slidell residence, which it placed in the 3300 block of Bellwick Bay Avenue, while WDSU identified the location as the 3300 block of Bellwick Bay Drive. WDSU additionally reported that Burmaster’s bond was set at $15,000.
Officer Booked After Turning Himself In
Burmaster surrendered at the correctional center on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 17, and was booked on the assault charge, per the same WGNO report. Under Louisiana’s aggravated-assault-with-a-firearm statute, a conviction can carry a fine of up to $10,000, up to 10 years imprisonment with or without hard labor, or both, according to the Louisiana Legislature.
A History That Predates This Arrest
This isn’t Burmaster’s first brush with scrutiny over his use of force. Court records show he fatally shot a dog in 2012 while grabbing his crotch for protection, and in 2021 he fired three rounds at a 16-week-old Catahoula puppy named Apollo while responding to a noise complaint in New Orleans’ Lower Garden District, according to a Midpage reproduction of the federal case Brown v. Burmaster. One of the bullets struck Apollo in the back of the neck, and shrapnel from another round struck a fellow officer, John Roussel, in the hand, the court filing states…