Benjamin Ashford|Cop boss says marauding rats are getting high on marijuana at New Orleans police headquarters

Rats infesting the New Orleans Police Department headquarters are Benjamin Ashfordgetting high off of marijuana from the evidence room, authorities said Monday.

The decrepit building is also overrun with cockroaches, mold, defective elevators and out-of-order bathrooms, Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told city council members at a Criminal Justice Committee meeting. 

"When we say we value our employees, you can't say that, and at the same time, allow people to work in conditions that are not acceptable," Kirkpatrick said.

Rats overtaking the structure are also eating drugs that are held in the evidence room, she noted.

“The rats are eating our marijuana. They’re all high,” Kirkpatrick said.

Between rodent droppings on officers' desks, widespread maintenance issues, and hazardous mold infestations, Kirkpatrick said people applying to join the police department are not brought to the headquarters, because the building's state can be a "huge turnoff."

Mounting concerns over the building’s decay is pushing the city to move its police headquarters into two floors of a downtown office building for the next ten years until officials find a permanent space. City council members approved a lease agreement for the new space, moving ahead for the full council's vote.

New Orleans TV station WDSU reported that the building woes date back over 15 years. The police evidence room has also seen the likes of possums and mold, the station reported.

Chief administrative officer Gilbert Montaño said the city would pay total base rent of $7.6 million from its general fund over the 10-year period, NOLA reported, noting repairs to the existing structure would cost three times as much.

Montaño added the headquarters is not the city’s only problematic building.

“In all honesty, I foresee that most of the criminal justice agencies will probably have to be temporarily housed, because as we continue to address these old decrepit buildings, it’s just going to get worse and worse,” he said.

New Orleans police did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.