08:30 Newscast December 30, 2015

Louisiana had more police officer shot and killed in the line of duty in 2015 than any other state in the country…

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State Police has arrested an Independence Police officer accused of stealing money from people he pulled over. They say 25-year-old Laquinton Banks, who’s been with the department for five months, stole $1,600 from non-English speaking Hispanic males during the course of traffic stops on several occasions. Banks is charged with felony theft, malfeasance in office, and hate crimes.

The final day of Louisiana’s 2015 tax amnesty is tomorrow. State Department of Revenue spokesperson Kizzy Payton says this is the very last chance for eligible tax payers to settle their debt with the state. She says the Department of Revenue has other tools to use if someone doesn’t pay their delinquent taxes…

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She says offices will be open on New Year’s Eve to accept payments.

The holidays produce more trash than any other time of the year and the Department of Environmental Quality urges you to recycle. DEQ spokesman Greg Langley says although you may have accumulated a lot of trash through the holiday season, a lot of that can be reused…

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Langley also encourages people to recycle Christmas trees.